Night Without Stars Read Free

in
    the West End. It’ll save the journey and I shall be handy for concerts
    and things. That’s if Caroline has no objection.”
“I think you’re very wise,” she said. “ I never see any advantage
    in clinging to things for their sentimental value.”
I looked at the table. “ One thing I’m always glad about when
    I come here, and that’s that Hugh isn’t a vegetarian as well.”
“I only wish he were! He’d be so much healthier.”
Hugh looked apologetic but nickered a slow eyelid. “ Ad omnem
    libidinem projectus homo. A man abandoned to every lust.”
    It wasn’t long after this that things began to go back a bit. Several days the eye looked red and inflamed and it watered a good deal, and I couldn’t stick lights at all. So I went round to see Halliday who’d done the job. He was non-committal and grunted at me as he put his mirror thing back on the table.
    â€œHm. Yes. The Keratome incision has caused a scar which isn’t quite as satisfactory as it might be. However, I shouldn’t worry about it. Your colour values are all right now, aren’t they?”
    â€œOh, yes.”
    â€œNo headaches?”
    â€œNo headaches.”
    â€œI’ll change your glasses and give you a little protection against the light. In the meantime take things easily. Plenty of fresh air and not too much hard work. Try to consider yourself convalescent still.”
    â€œI’ll try.”
    Presently I heard Rachel was married and had gone to live in Portsmouth. I hadn’t seen her since, but I thought it safe enough to relax now and sent her some Georgian silver as a wedding present. Probably if I had been able I should have salved my pains by finding some other girl to go about with, but that didn’t seem to make sense in the circumstances. I got to dining out and playing cards after. For the first time in my life I began to appreciate bridge and to take an interest in poker. Then one day I woke up to the fact that I could see definitely less than a week ago.
    At first I put it down to the weather; but after a bit of careful testing I realised that the rain wasn’t to blame for this.
    I took a taxi and drove round in a panic to see Halliday.
    As was to be expected I had to wait half the morning until he could fit me in between his appointments. He grunted and nodded through what I had to say and then took me in and did the same sort of things he had done three months ago.
    When he’d switched off the last light and made all the necessary notes on his card index he looked at me and said:
    â€œOf course you’re quite right, Mr. Gordon. Your sight has deteriorated since February. The cause, as I told you, is the scar of the earlier operation, which is contracting, and pulling the pupil up slightly towards the top of the eye. Normally, this would not happen, but for some reason that we don’t know, perhaps because of the foreign body we had to take out of the eye, the scar became entangled and has been drawn up.” He granted and turned to make another note. “It’s very disappointing, because it is reducing the value of the eye to you. I can only give you the advice I gave you before. Don’t worry, take things easily. You’re able to live a fairly normal life at present, aren’t you, and it may never get any worse.”
    There was something in the tone of his voice that I didn’t like.
    â€œOr it may?”
    â€œThere’s really no reason why it should.”
    â€œAnd if it does?”
    He grunted again and shut his drawer. “If the pupil gets further drawn up it will naturally restrict sight further and it would be necessary to adapt your life accordingly.”
    â€œCan’t operate again?”
    â€œI should be afraid to with an eye in that condition. But why meet troubles before they come?”
    I got up, feeling slightly sick, and looked for my hat. He passed