human
I hope I don't intrude, said he, in American accents.
gpt
I was obliged to come and speak to you--you look bad. I _hate_ to hear anybody cough. He put an emphasis on hate, a long-drawn nasal _haate_, hissing it out with unmeasured ferocity.
human
I _haate_ to hear anybody cough. Now I should like to tell you how to cure it, if you don't mind.
gpt
By all means--very interesting,
human
I was bad at home, in the States, said he.
gpt
I was on my back four years with a cough. I couldn't do anything--couldn't help myself; four years, and I got down to eighty-seven pounds. That's a fact, I weighed eighty-seven pounds.
human
Very little,
gpt
I tried everything the doctors recommended--it was no use; they had to give me up. At last a man cured me; and how do you think he did it?
human
Can't think--should much like to know.
gpt
Crude petroleum, said the American.
human
That was it. Crude petroleum! You take it just as it comes from the wells; not refined, mind. Just crude. Ten drops on a bit of sugar three times a day, before meals. Taste it? No, not to speak of; you don't mind it after a little while. I had in a ten-gallon keg. I got well. I got up to two hundred and fifty pounds. That's true. I got too fat, had to check it. But I take the drops still, if I feel out of sorts. Guess I'm strong enough now. Been all over Europe.
gpt
But you Britishers won't try anything, I suppose, from the States, now.
human
You begin with five drops, he said, solemnly.
gpt
Or three, if you like, and work up to ten. It soon gets easy to take. You'll soon pick up. But I doubt if you'll get a keg of the crude oil in this country; you'll have to send over for it. I _haate_ to hear anybody cough