But he knew that my strength was greater than his
and he bowed assent.
When the other girls had gone--some of them with frightened looks at me,
as if mine were the devil's beauty they tell about--and when Prof.
Darmstetter was ready to begin his own work, I faced him with a
challenge:--
"Prof. Darmstetter, you are about to break your word."
"You are mistaken," he said; but he could not face my look.
"I am not mistaken; you are planning to try the Bacillus upon other women,
and you promised that I should be first."
"And so you are! I dit not promise t'at you should be t'e only beautiful
voman all your life, or ten years, or von year. You haf t'e honour of
being first. It is all, and it is enough. You shall be famous by t'at. I
am an old man and must sometime brint my discofery for t'e goot of t'e
vorld; but first I must make experiments; I must try the Bacillus vit' a
blonde voman, vit' a brunette voman, vit' a negro voman--it vill be fine
to share t'e secrets of Gott and see v'at He meant to make of t'e negro."
If his enthusiasm had not run counter to my rights, I might have admired
it.
"I must try it vit' a cripple," he went on, "vit' an idiot, vit' a deaf
and dumb voman.
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