New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
He dropped several tinkly objects on my desk, rose, and, without another
word, was gone. I picked up the items. They were subway tokens. I
hurried to the window and glanced out. I could see the little man
hurrying down the street, his head bobbing up and down like a swimmer in
the ocean. Then, my mind in a turmoil, I turned out the light and went
to bed. Fortunately, regardless of the press of circumstances, I have
never had difficulty in falling asleep and tonight was no exception.
* * * * *
At seven-thirty the next morning I arose, dressed, and prepared my
breakfast. I thought of the events of the preceding evening. Had it not
been for the bloodied towel with which I had washed the little man's
wounds, I might have dismissed the entire incident as a dream. I
continued to think about it while walking to the subway. I berated
myself for taking the story seriously even for a moment, as I dropped a
token into the turnstile and pressed forward. I gasped in sudden pain as
the turnstile, still locked, pushed into my midriff. I glanced at the
token in the slot. It had not dropped. I pressed it down. It refused to
budge. I tried several other tokens, all with the same result. By this
time half a dozen people had gathered behind me, making angry remarks.
Flustered, I backed away, bought a token from the cashier, and rode to
the University. Then it was I recalled that I had tried to use the
tokens my strange visitor had placed on my desk before parting from me,
and which I had, without thinking, picked up in the morning.
All that day I pondered over the tokens and the odd tale of Mr.
Rumplestein-O'Grady. I could still give it no credence, but I _was_
disturbed. On my way home, that evening, as is my wont, I bought a
newspaper and began reading it casually. Just before reaching my
station, I came across a small item on one of the inside pages. It
stated that a small, bearded man, wearing a checkered suit, had been
found in the river that morning, stabbed. There were no identification
papers on him, only a pocket full of subway tokens which, police
believed, had been used to weight down the body.
"Good heavens!" I said aloud. Several passengers raised their eyebrows.
I flushed, hurried out of the train and to my apartment where I fell
into my chair, shocked and shaking. No doubt the body was that of
Rumplestein. The poor little man! What did this mean? Could his story
conceivably have been true?
The knock on my door startled me. "Professor, are you home?" It was my
landlady. When I opened the door she handed me an envelope with my name
written on it in small, neat letters. "A little fellow with a beard gave
it to me early this morning, after you'd gone. He said to be sure you
got it. Then he ran away." She shook her head in obvious disapproval of
such actions.
After she left I tore open the envelope and read the contents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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