Page 140 - The Grotesque Children's Book

“Astragalus! Pfah! You’re being bilked, my boy. You can get four times the
wholesomeness from the oregano, for a twentieth the cost.”

“Have I been harming him, giving him the Astragalus?”
“No, it isn’t harming him, I don’t think. But it isn’t a cure. I’ve boiled it down and
examined its sediments. There’s mainly anise-flavor in it. But very little of the stuff which will
soften the spittle. No more Astragalus!”
Oh, Santi, Santi! Little did you realize how much in danger was your own life. Watch,
Santi, watch from your scaffold, from your doorstep, from your walk to the apothecary’s and
back. Watch everyone, everyone, to see who would benefit from your death. When a man’s
death is more valuable than his life, then numbered, numbered are his days.

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