"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 285 - Fountain of Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

For the curative properties of these surroundings could be attributed to Noble Elder quite as much as
Sapphire Springs. Indians, pioneers, and settlers all had owned the Springs in turn, but it had taken a
wise gentleman named Elder to prove that here lay the cure for mental as well as physical ills. Discovering
the true Fountain of Life and packing its contents into blue bottles at thirty-five cents a quart had merely
been Elder's first step to fame. So many visitors had come to see this remarkable source of health that the
Sapphire Sanitarium had sprung up in Arabian Nights' style and now was restricted to the members of
the Self Society who were desirous of imbibing Elder's philosophy along with the variety of aqua pura on
which he held complete monopoly.

Johnny Craver had imbibed both in copious quantities and was now receiving his final treatment. Smiling
as he chatted, Noble Elder did not forget the blue-tinted carafe which rested on his desk. From that
water-bottle, he replenished both Johnny's glass and his own, as a toast to his recuperated patient's
coming return to the outside world.

"No jitters any longer, Johnny?"

There was a touch of humor in Elder's tone; the encouraging touch that it always carried.

"No jitters. No butterflies, either" - Johnny tapped his diaphragm - "the kind that used to be flying around
here."

"Moths, Johnny," corrected Elder. He raised his glass with a smile. "It took nature's camphor to disperse
them."

"Camphor?" queried Johnny in surprise. "You mean there is camphor in Sapphire Water?"

"There might be," laughed Elder. "It contains about everything else that is healthful. Here is our latest
analysis, direct from the State Health Department. But wait" - Elder's face became serious as he laid
aside the paper he was passing across the desk - "here is an analysis of more importance. Your own,
Johnny."

Passing the other sheet to Johnny, Elder finished his glass of Sapphire Water and folded his arms while he
awaited the young man's reaction. Reading the typewritten report, Johnny began to shake his head.

"I was pretty much of a mess when I landed here, wasn't I?" began Johnny. "I came in on the end of a
one-week hangover inspired by a two-week binge. What was I seeing, pink elephants?"

"You'd passed that stage, Johnny. You were talking about snakes, mostly with six heads."

"And of course I wanted something to drink -"

"So we gave it to you. Sapphire Water."

Johnny reached for his glass.

"I certainly hated the stuff," he recalled, "but I couldn't do without it now. You're sure I can get it bottled
in New York?"

"Yes. All the best pharmacists carry it. Only there are other bottled goods in New York, too, the kind