Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

SOME OTHER TIME satisfied. You said something about a broken toy?” “That’s right. Katrin said that her doll was broken.”’ *“Nothing about it walking ?” “Oh, that. You know what children are. Especially our eight new ones here. She just likes to dramatise. Building up a fairy story. Apparently the doll was really broken after she said she saw it walking.” Louise looked down at the floor and then tut-tutted and picked up the butt of Merrick’s cigar. She ground it out against the dispenser chute and dropped it down with a gesture of distaste. There were no ash-trays in the office. **All this ash over the floor. Disgusting.”’ “Do you think Katrin saw the doll walking, Louise ?”’ ““Why, of course not! You know children.” Sure he knew children. He knew kids inside out. What made them tick, their littlest aches and pains. He knew them all. The agony was that not one was his. There was 25 Louise—but how could he, a T.B. broken wreck... Why, any minute now, the fumigation squad would be around to make sure that everywhere Doctor Carpenter went was very thoroughly de- contaminated. Otherwise, they’d all get T.B. And it was so damned easy. Just like he’d caught it. Lots of worry, loads of responsibilities, over- work, and the latent germ reared its ugly head and— bingo—you were without half your lungs. It wasn’t really like that, he supposed, bitterly. If he’d had a little more care, checked up sooner—the hell with it. Re- grets got you nowhere. “IT forgot, Doctor. All this excitement.’ Louise stumbled over the word as though ashamed to utter a stronger one that would embarrass Carpenter. “That gentleman to see you is still waiting.” ‘“Oh, Lord! You’ve no idea what he wants?” “He wouldn’t tell me a thing. Wouldn’t even give me his name. But he came up on comiclbooks.comn