Chapter 2 2. Business card

Next day at seven o'clock I came to the shop in a carriage.It was just dawn, and there were not many people on the road.It was still dark at 7 o'clock in the morning in November, and the shops were not clearly visible.I waited five minutes, and a postman happened to pass by, and then the store door opened, and out came the monster, Merrick. I couldn't see his face or body, and he had a big black hat on his head like a big box.A piece of gray cloth was draped over the hat and kept over his face, and there was a hole in the cloth in front of his eyes, through which he could look out, but I could not see in.He also wore a long black coat that dragged from his neck to his feet so I couldn't see his arms, body and legs.He wore a pair of big shoes on his feet, like two old sacks.

He held a cane in his left hand and walked slowly. I opened the car door and walked out. "Good morning, Mr. Merrick," I said, "Can you come up?" "Elpmyu steps," he said. "Sorry," I said, "I don't understand." He stood by the car door for a while without saying a word.He then tapped the car with his cane. "Get in the car," he said loudly, "help me get in the car." Later, I realized that there were three steps on the carriage, and he couldn't get up. "Oh, sorry," I said, "I'm here to help you."

I held his left hand with my left hand and supported his back with my right hand to help him get into the car.I find it odd that his left hand is like a young woman's hand, while the back of his coat is horrible.I can feel those old skin cysts on my back inside my coat. He stepped up the first step with one big foot first, and then stopped.After a while, slowly moved the other foot, then stopped again and waited again. "Hey sir, can I help you?" I looked behind me and there was the postman, and behind him were three little boys, one of whom was laughing loudly. The postman smiled and asked: "Is this gentleman sick?" I had an idea:

"Yes, but this is a lady, not a gentleman. I'm a doctor, and she's sick, and I'm holding her hand so I can help her better." The postman pulled Merrick's left hand, and I pushed him from behind with both hands.Merrick moved slowly into the carriage.A little boy approached the carriage, and he called out to his companions, "Come and see, a fat woman in a black coat! Look at that big hat!" The children laughed and went to the carriage. I quickly closed the door and turned to the postman and said, "Thank you." "She's sick. We're going to the hospital. Thank you and goodbye."

The carriage drove along the road to the hospital.I looked at Merrick and said, "It's not easy, is it?" He didn't say anything at first, but then he spoke, his voice was very strange, but I still listened carefully, and I could understand what he said. "Stairs are difficult," he said. "Most things are difficult for me." "Nothing is easy for you, is it?" "Yes." He was silent for a moment, then asked: "Who are you, sir?" "Who am I? Oh, sorry, I'm Dr. Trevis. Here's my business card." I handed him a business card with my name on it.But after thinking about it, it's useless, he can't read.Merrick took the business card and looked at it carefully, then put it in his trousers pocket.

I didn't talk to him much in the hospital, I looked at his head, arms, legs, and body very carefully, and I wrote down important facts about him in a little notebook.A nurse came to assist me with my work.Merrick looked at her now and then, but she neither smiled at him nor spoke to him.I think she's afraid of him, and Merrick might be afraid of her too, because he's been so quiet. At four o'clock I drove him back to the shop in the carriage.I looked in the shop window again the next day, but the picture was gone.