“Yes. Any works on poisons—a chemistry would do.”
“Oh, yes, we have books on poisons. I'll jot down the numbers for you. We have not many, I'm afraid. It is—it isn't a pleasant subject.”
“No, I imagine not.”
She busied herself with the card index, and came back to him in a moment with a slip of paper.
“I'm sorry,” said the pretty girl, “but we seem to have only one book on poisons, and I'm afraid that isn't what you want. It is entitled 'Poisonous Plants of New Jersey,' and is one of the bulletins of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at New Brunswick. But it is out at present. Here is the number of it, and if it comes in—”
“I should be glad to see it,” interrupted the colonel pleasantly.
“Here is the number,” and the pretty girl extended to him a slip which read: 58 C. H—161*
“What is the star for?” asked the colonel.
“It indicates that the book was donated by the state and was not purchased with the endowment appropriation,” she informed him.
“And it is out now. I wonder if you could tell me who has it?”