Retinal and Choroidal Imaging in Systemic Diseases 1st Edition Jay Chhablani Download PDF
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Retinal and
Choroidal Imaging in
Systemic Diseases
Jay Chhablani
Parthopratim Dutta Majumder
J. Fernando Arevalo
Editors
123
Retinal and Choroidal Imaging
in Systemic Diseases
Jay Chhablani
Parthopratim Dutta Majumder
J. Fernando Arevalo
Editors
J. Fernando Arevalo
The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
USA
Who needs another book? More pictures? New technology? Is there anything else
to learn?
The answers to these questions are very simple. Working backwards, one appre-
ciates the fact that learning never stops. It is our objective as physicians to continu-
ally learn so as to better ourselves and therefore improve the care we provide to our
patients. While there are many ways of learning, someone must always be a student
and someone must always be the teacher. Is there new technology? Of course there
is and it is our obligation as students of ophthalmology to learn that technology,
relying on good teachers to help us understand that which is new and different. We
are fortunate in that we are witness to incredible advances in technology in our life-
times, but we must be committed to not letting the technology get away from us.
Therefore we look to proven methods of teaching, provided by good teachers and
educators, to enlighten us and keep us up to date on the newest technologies in our
field. And who is it that said that a picture is worth a thousand words? As we know
that most of us learn from pictures and a well-illustrated document, with concise
and well-organized writing, to explain those illustrations which helps enormously in
the learning process. Pattern recognition is key to our profession and thus imaging
is key to what we do every day. And finally one must ask, do we need another book?
And the answer is unquestionably, yes. And the reason for that is simple. The best
way to keep up with new technology is through a well-illustrated text that serves as
a reference and provides a well-organized, meticulously scripted, heavily refer-
enced document. The textbook does exactly that.
We, the students, are fortunate in that doctors Jay Chhablani, Parthopratim
Majumdar, and J. Fernando Arevalo are superb teachers who have assembled a list
of experts to address a variety of systemic conditions. By using various imaging
modalities they are able to illustrate and better define these conditions. By focusing
these modern imaging technologies on selected systemic conditions, we have an
unusual format for the learning process. Whether we are ophthalmologists who spe-
cialize in retinal diseases, general ophthalmologists, uveitis specialists, ocular
oncologists, internists, or family physicians interested in understanding the lan-
guage of imaging technology in ophthalmology, these teachers instruct us as never
before. Beautifully illustrated and beautifully written, this textbook will undoubt-
edly become a mainstay of the practicing physician as well as medical students and
residents alike. This text will become a first resource for so many individuals trying
v
vi Foreword
to understand the complexity of the many systemic diseases which are demonstrated
through ophthalmic imaging.
We must compliment and acknowledge the editors of this extremely important
text for their efforts and their successful accomplishments in bringing to the reader-
ship this very valuable text.
Alexander J. Brucker
Scheie Eye Institute
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
USA
Preface
Various systemic diseases involve the eyes, and in few diseases, the eyes could pro-
vide the first clue for the systemic disease. Retinal findings on clinical examination
have been reported previously in systemic diseases. Advancement of posterior seg-
ment imaging has significantly improved the understanding of pathophysiology and
has become an essential part in management strategy of posterior segment diseases.
Advanced imaging techniques such as enhanced depth imaging, oximetry, adaptive
optics, and retinal blood flowmetry are now being explored in subjects with sys-
temic diseases. With improved understanding on such imaging techniques in vari-
ous systemic diseases, the knowledge about pathomechanism, early diagnosis, and
more targeted therapeutic approaches has improved.
In this book, we focus on findings with various imaging modalities in various
systemic conditions. Systemic conditions included, but are not limited to, neuro-
logical diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s dis-
ease, schizophrenia, and migraine; systemic vasculitis such as Behçet’s disease;
systemic lupus erythematosus; ocular toxicity secondary to systemic drugs;
blood dyscrasias such as sickle cell disease and hematologic disorders; renal
diseases; trauma-related conditions such as Purtscher-like retinopathy, whiplash
retinopathy, and shaken-baby syndrome; intracranial hypertension; cancer-asso-
ciated retinopathy; gastrointestinal diseases; immunologic diseases such as auto-
immune retinopathy and sarcoidosis; systemic infectious diseases such as
tuberculosis and choroidal and retinal metastasis; oculoneurocutaneous syn-
dromes; Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease; pregnancy; systemic hypertension; and
Valsalva retinopathy.
This book, entitled Retina and Choroidal Imaging in Systemic Diseases, is the
first attempt to provide information on retinal and choroidal findings using advanced
imaging technologies in systemic diseases. This book is intended for ophthalmolo-
gists, retina specialists, uveitis specialists, ocular oncologists, and internal medicine
specialists.
We wish that this book improves the current understanding about the imaging
findings in systemic diseases which helps for early diagnosis and management of
these conditions.
vii
viii Preface
We would like to thank all the authors who shared their experience and valuable
time and effort for the book. We would like to thank the Springer staff, who guided
us to make this book happen. At the end, we would like to thank our patients, col-
leagues, and families who supported us to bring this book in a timely manner.
1 Neurological Diseases������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1
Uppal Gandhi, Preeti Patil Chhablani, Akshay G. Nair,
and Jay Chhablani
2 Retinal Vasculitis in Systemic Disease�������������������������������������������������������� 15
Irfan Khan and Ashvini Reddy
3 Multimodal Imaging in Drug-Related Retinal Toxicity �������������������������� 29
Remya Mareen Paulose, Jay Chhablani, and William F. Mieler
4 Retinal Manifestations in Hematological Disorders �������������������������������� 51
Giulio Barteselli, Maura Di Nicola, and Laura Dell’Arti
5 Retinal Manifestations of Renal Diseases�������������������������������������������������� 67
Aniruddha Agarwal and Alessandro Invernizzi
6 Imaging of Retinal and Choroidal Manifestations
of Gastrointestinal Disease�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 79
Francisco J. Rodríguez, Catalina Becerra,
and María Cristina Gabela
7 Ocular Sarcoidosis ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 103
David Ehmann and Sunir Garg
8 Autoimmune Retinopathy ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 113
David Ehmann and Sunir Garg
9 Systemic Infectious Diseases �������������������������������������������������������������������� 125
Aniruddha Agarwal and Vishali Gupta
10 Imaging of Retinal and Choroidal Metastases���������������������������������������� 153
Akshay Gopinathan Nair, David Fell, Sherief Raouf,
and Swathi Kaliki
11 Phakomatosis���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 163
Nishant Radke, Carol L. Shields, J. Fernando Arevalo,
and Jay Chhablani
ix
x Contents
xi
xii About the Editors
paper. He has attended and presented papers in various national and international
conferences. His areas of interest include medical management of uveitis and scle-
ritis, uveitis in autoimmune disorders, and phacoemulsification in uveitic cataracts.
He is now working as consultant in the Department of Uvea and Intraocular
Inflammation, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. He has published many articles in
various peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed journals. He is the editor of INSIGHT,
the scientific journal of medical and vision research foundation. He is the founder
cum chief editor of the popular ophthalmology portal www.eophtha.com.
xiii
xiv Contributors
xvii
xviii Authors’ Biography
completion of his internship at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in San Diego,
CA (1980), he completed his 3-year ophthalmology residency at the Bascom Palmer
Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miami, FL (1980–1983). This was followed by
a 1-year vitreoretinal fellowship at the Eye Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, WI (1983–1984). He then returned to the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
where he served as chief resident and clinical instructor (1984–1985). Dr. Mieler
then completed a second fellowship in ocular oncology at Wills Eye Hospital,
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA (1985). In 1985, he joined the full-
time faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he became professor of
ophthalmology (1992) and was awarded the Jack A. and Elaine D. Klieger chair in
ophthalmology (1998). Dr. Mieler then joined the faculty at the Baylor College of
Medicine, in Houston, TX, as professor of ophthalmology (1999–2004). He then
accepted the position of professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology
at the University of Chicago (2004–2008), prior to his current position at the
University of Illinois at Chicago (2008–present).
Dr. Mieler has authored or co-authored 350 scientific papers, 85 book chapters,
and 7 textbooks, including The Retinal Atlas, 2nd edition (2017), along with present-
ing 25 named lectures. He is/has been the principal investigator or co-investigator of
more than 60 scientific grants and collaborative studies. He has served the American
Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) as a board director (1998–2005), as chairman of
the board (2005), as associate executive director (2006), and as emeritus director
(2006–present). He also served on several committees with the American Board of
Medical Specialties (ABMS). Dr. Mieler is also the past president of the Macula
Society (2003–2004), and he received the Gass Medal (2013). He has served on the
executive committees of the Retina Society and the American Society of Retina
Specialists (ASRS). In 2011, he was named recipient of the Founders Award by the
ASRS. He is a past member of the Pan-American Board of Directors (2001–2008),
and he has chaired the PAAO Foundation Grants Committee (2006–2011). Dr.
Mieler has served on the ARVO Board of Trustees (2010–2016), representing the
Retina Section, and was president of ARVO (2014–2015). He received the
Distinguished Service Award from ARVO (2016). He has served on the editorial
board of the Archives of Ophthalmology, RETINA, and Current Eye Research and
currently serves on the editorial board of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology
and the American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports. He also serves as a
scientific reviewer for 34 additional scientific journals. From the American Academy
of Ophthalmology (AAO), he has received the Honor Award (1992), the Lifelong
Education for the Ophthalmologist Award (2000), the Senior Honor Award (2001),
and the Life Achievement Honor Award (2011). He also has served as a member of
the AAO Council (2001–2008) and the EyeNet Editorial Advisory Board (2003–
2007) and is the chair of the Schepens Award (2007–2010). He also has served the
AAO as a media spokesman, as a member of the CME Committee, and as associate
secretary for the AAO Subspecialty Day programs (2011–2015). Most recently, he
was elected to serve on the AAO Board of Trustees (2017–2020).
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surrey. Mr. Martin’s big limousine was there, too, and the chauffeur, a
smart young Irishman in a whipcord livery, looked curiously at The
Ark as it trundled by. A couple of private turn-outs completed the
roster. When, having turned the car around, Tom drew up toward
the platform again there seemed no place to stop.
“Take it around there,” suggested Jerry, pointing to a short stretch
of platform at the further end of the building which was unoccupied.
But Tom shook his head.
“That’s where the express wagons back up,” he said. “They’d be
mad and put me out. I guess we’ll have to leave her here, Will.”
“They ought to have more platform,” replied Willard. “This is a
punk old station, anyway. Look here, Tom, we ought to have a sign
or something on the car to let folks know that it’s public. We didn’t
think of that.”
“I guess there are lots of things we haven’t thought of,” sighed
Tom as he stopped the engine. “You fellows will have to get out
when the train comes in. Then, if I don’t catch anyone, you can get
back again.”
“Who get out?” demanded Teddy. “Me? I’m riding back. Here’s
your old quarter now, if you can’t trust me.”
“I don’t want your quarter. If I don’t get any passengers you can
ride back for nothing, but you’ll have to get out now until I see.
Folks won’t want to get in here if it’s filled with kids.”
“Kids!” exclaimed Teddy wrathfully. “Gee, I like that! All right,
Jerry; pile out. Can I leave my box in here?”
“Put it in front,” said Willard, “under my feet. Is that the train?”
It wasn’t, however; it was just a shunting engine down in the
yards. Meanwhile the various drivers about the station were passing
facetious remarks about The Ark. Finally the man who was driving
the hack called across. “Where’d ye get it, byes?” he asked with a
grin and a wink at the Martin chauffeur.
Tom held his peace, but Jerry smiled genially and answered:
“Made it ourselves, Old Snookums. Want a ride?”
“Cut it out,” said Willard. “Don’t get fresh, Jerry.”
“You mean your great-grandmother made it,” retorted the
Irishman on the hack. “Sure, I’ve seen better ones than that in the
junk yards!”
“Oh, we don’t care what you’ve seen at home,” replied Jerry
flippantly.
“Is that so? You’re a pretty smart kid, aren’t you?” the driver
sneered angrily. “Mind, now, if that thing you have there scares
these horses——”
“They look scared already,” offered Teddy. “Do they ever look
around?”
A guffaw from the driver of a smart looking runabout and grins
from others added fresh fuel to the Irishman’s wrath. “For two cents
I’d get down from this box and punch your heads,” he declared, “the
whole bunch o’ ye!”
Further hostilities were interrupted by the screech of the train
down the track. The boys moved across to the platform and Tom
and Willard walked around to the front of the station. The express
came to a stop with a grinding of brakes and the passengers began
to disembark. There were not so very many to-day, perhaps a score
in all. Tom and Willard, the former at the front end of the train and
the latter at the rear, were ready for them, however.
“Automobile to all parts of town!” announced Tom. “Ride up, sir?”
A man with a sample-case in each hand viewed Tom jovially but
pushed by and transferred his luggage to the hack-driver. Several
others viewed the boy good-naturedly but passed him by. An elderly
lady, however, who was probably a trifle hard of hearing, handed a
small brown bag to Tom and followed him around the station. But
when she saw the automobile she shook her head in alarm and
seized her bag again. “Sakes alive, you don’t expect me to trust my
life in one of them things, do you, young man? Aren’t there any
carriages here?”
Tom conducted her to the surrey and helped her in, while the
driver grinned from the front seat. Meanwhile Willard had fared no
better, and the boys, standing on the platform, watched the horse-
drawn vehicles rattle away well filled.
“I guess it’s a sort of—of an innovation,” observed Willard. “I
suppose we’ll have to educate them up to riding in an auto.”
“How long’s it going to take to educate them?” asked Tom
disappointedly. Willard had no answer for that. Teddy and Jerry
looked properly sympathetic but were doubtless relieved to find that
they would not have to walk home.
“What you want, Tom, is a sign, a good big one,” said Jerry. “‘Any
Part of the City for a Quarter,’ or something like that. Folks don’t
know the thing’s public, you see.”
“I told them it was,” responded Tom bitterly. “I can’t very well
knock them down and throw them in, can I?”
Teddy dug his hand in his pocket and sidled up to Tom.
“Eh? What’s this?” asked Tom.
“The quarter,” replied Teddy. “I’m going to ride back, you know.”
Tom pushed the hand away with a smile. “That’s all right, Teddy, I
don’t want your money. Climb in, fellows!”
So The Ark trundled back to the village, completing its first, and
unsuccessful, trip.
CHAPTER X
THE FIRST PASSENGER
T hat evening Tom, who made the trip to the 6:05 train alone,
picked up two passengers and so swelled the day’s receipts to
one dollar and a half. Connors seldom sent more than one carriage
to the 6:05 and on this occasion Pat Herron was late and Tom
reaped what small harvest there was before the livery hack reached
the platform. Pat’s look of chagrin more than made up for the insults
to his beloved Ark that Tom had been forced to bear.
The next morning Tom and Willard went around to the hotel and
saw the proprietor, Mr. Timothy Meechin. Tim, as he was called, was
a stout, good-natured man with florid face and a loud laugh who
had inherited the hotel property from his father, “Meechin’s” having
been a road tavern in the old days when Audelsville was only a
wayside settlement. Almost everyone liked Tim Meechin, and his
hotel was well conducted and popular, which was a fortunate thing
since it was the only hostelry deserving the name in town. But,
although Mr. Meechin was kindness itself and seemed genuinely
interested in the boys’ venture, he had to refuse their request.
“It’s like this,” he said, a thumb in each arm-hole of his vest—he
was seldom seen with a coat——“it’s like this, boys. Bill Connors has
a sort of—of a franchise, d’ye see, to carry folks from the hotel to
the depot, and t’other way, too, d’ye see. It’s a sort of a contract we
made years ago and I wouldn’t scarcely like to go back on it, d’ye
see. O’ course I can’t interfere with you if you bring somebody from
the depot up here; you got a right to do that; but I wouldn’t like you
should stand outside the hotel and take custom away from Bill. You
see yourselves, boys, that that wouldn’t do.”
“It seems as if Mr. Connors was operating a sort of transportation
trust,” said Willard with a sigh.
“Then there’s another thing,” continued Tim Meechin. “You fellows
carry folks for a quarter and Bill he gets fifty cents. So if I let you
stand outside the hotel, you’d get all of Bill’s trade away from him
sooner or later, d’ye see, and that wouldn’t be hardly fair to Bill; now
would it?”
“I don’t see that,” Tom objected. “If we can afford to carry folks
for a quarter it seems to me that’s our look-out. All Mr. Connors
would have to do would be to—to meet competition, to put his price
down, too.”
“Ah, there it is, d’ye see! You fellows have an automobile which
don’t cost much to run, but Bill he has a lot of horses to feed and
look after and a lot of help to pay wages to. Follows, don’t it, that he
can’t carry passengers as cheap as you can?”
“I suppose so,” Tom granted, “but—but if you stick to that idea,
why, there wouldn’t be any competition at all!”
Mr. Meechin nodded untroubledly. “Right you are. It’s competition
that’s ruinin’ the country, boys. What would I do, now, if a fellow
came along, d’ye see, and opened a hotel across the street there?
Say he bought the Perkins block and put up a new hotel. Where’d I
be?”
“Why—why, if you gave just as good as he did and charged no
more——”
“But he’d have a new building, d’ye see, with, say, a bathroom to
every suite and—and a roof-garden on top, and one of those
restaurants in the cellar and—” Mr. Meechin was getting quite
excited and wrought up at the bare thought of the contingency. He
shook his head decidedly. “First come, first served, boys; that’s my
motto. Here I am and here I’ve been for thirty years, and my father
before me, d’ye see, and what right has a fellow who, maybe, never
saw Audelsville before to come and try to ruin my business and put
me in the poor house? ’Tain’t fair dealing!”
“Well, if you look at it that way,” murmured Willard.
“There’s no other way to look at it, right,” said Mr. Meechin
decisively. “And it’s the same way with Bill Connors. Bill has his living
to make and his family to look after. He needs the money, boys. And
—and I guess you don’t—much, eh? It’s a sort of a lark with you,
d’ye see?”
“It isn’t a lark at all,” replied Tom warmly. “It’s business. We’re in it
to make money, and we’ve just as much right to make money as Mr.
Connors has. Of course if you say we can’t stop outside your hotel
and bid for passengers, that’s all right, but it doesn’t seem quite fair
to me, sir.”
“It’s fair enough, Tom,” said Willard soothingly, “if Mr. Meechin has
an agreement with Connors. I suppose if we stood on the other side
of the street and any of your guests chose to walk over there you
couldn’t object, sir?”
Mr. Meechin hesitated. Finally: “No, I suppose I couldn’t,” he
acknowledged. “But I warn you fair, boys, that I’d have to advise my
folks to take Connors’ hack. I’ve got to live up to my agreement with
Bill, d’ye see.”
“That’s all right, sir. And thank you very much. Good morning.”
Tom remained indignant for some time. “If we can’t stand at the
station and can’t stand at the hotel,” he said bitterly, “I guess we’d
better sell The Ark and go out of business right now.”
“Maybe, though, we can get permission from the railroad if we
write to the superintendent or whoever he said we should write to.
It’s worth trying, anyway. And then if Simms will let us stand in front
of his shop we might soon get business from the hotel. Men don’t
mind walking across the street to save a quarter and get there
quicker, I guess. Let’s go and see Simms now.”
Simms’ was one of those drug stores that fill their windows with
signs and placards of patent medicines, headache cures, and
temperance drinks, and very little else. It was a rather dirty, run-
down little shop, but as it was directly opposite the entrance of
Meechin’s Hotel it did a fair business.
Mr. Simms, the proprietor, was a little, light-haired, thin-voiced
man of fifty-odd, who looked as though he might be his own best
customer for patent remedies. When Willard proffered his request
the druggist blinked his eyes for a moment and then smiled craftily.
“Why, I guess there isn’t any objection, boys,” he said. “Of course
it’ll be worth something to you, I guess.”
“How do you mean?” asked Willard.
“Well, it ought to be worth a few dollars a month, hadn’t it? Say—
shall we say ten?”
“Sure,” laughed Tom, mirthlessly, “let’s say fifty. It isn’t much
harder.”
Mr. Simms frowned at him, and so did Willard.
“We can’t pay for the privilege just now, sir,” Willard said frankly,
“but if after we give it a fair trial we find that we’re getting custom
we might consider it, sir.”
The druggist, however, was obdurate and the boys went off. It
was then nearly time to go to the station to meet the first train and
they hurried up Pine Street to get the car. It was on the way that
Willard recollected that they had not thought to look in the morning
paper for the article Spider Wells had promised would be there.
Unfortunately Mr. Benton had taken his copy of the News-Patriot to
the post-office with him and so when, after some difficulty, I must
acknowledge, The Ark had been persuaded to start and was on its
way toward the station, Willard insisted on stopping at a news stand
and buying a copy. It was well worth the two cents he invested,
however. The article was quite lengthy, and was headed in bold,
black type, “Build Their Own Car and Operate It—Two Audelsville
Boys, Sons of Well-Known Citizens, Show Mechanical Genius and
Business Acumen.” Willard read it while Tom guided The Ark
stationward.
“There’s a new transportation line in town,” said the News-Patriot.
“If you don’t believe it watch for the gray automobile that is to be
seen any day flying between the railroad station and the hotel.
Audelsville has a new business enterprise and its name is the Benton
and Morris Transportation Company, Thomas Benton, President,
Willard Morris, General Manager. The lads, one the son of our
popular postmaster, and the other the son of Mr. Garford Morris, the
well-known cabinet maker of Logan Street, are each under eighteen
years of age, and yet, we understand, have practically built the
automobile unaided. It is a fine looking machine, as all who have
seen it in its trips through town will testify. Audelsville should be
proud of two such clever young citizens.
“The auto makes trips between Meechin’s Hotel and the station,
meeting all trains, and handling passengers and baggage
comfortably and expeditiously. The reasonable charge of twenty-five
cents for the trip each way is made and there is no doubt but that
the traveling public will warmly welcome this means of
transportation, especially when, as is almost always the case, the
trolley line fails to make connection with the trains. Young Benton is
the driver of the car, while his friend and business associate, Willard
Morris, attends to securing trade. Both boys are well known and
popular. Morris graduated from high school last month and Benton is
in the senior class. The News-Patriot wishes them all good fortune in
their plucky venture.”
“There’s a lot there that isn’t so,” said Tom, trying to disguise his
pleasure with a critical frown. “That about our making the car
ourselves, for instance.”
“Yes, but who cares? It makes a better story, Tom. Why, this
ought to be worth a lot to us as advertising. It was dandy of Spider,
wasn’t it?”
“Yes; Mr. Wells, too. We ought to find Spider and ride him around
all day, Will! Just—just read it again, will you?”
It was well they had the newspaper story to keep their spirits up
that morning, for it wasn’t until the 1:57 train pulled in that they
succeeded in securing their first passenger, an elderly gentleman
who confided to them that he had never ridden in one of “these here
contraptions afore” and whose destination was so far the other side
of town that the boys doubted whether they had made or lost on the
trip! Business looked up a little toward evening, however, and from
the 6:05 they gathered three commercial travelers, who filled the car
with bags and made good-natured fun of it all the way to the hotel.
What added vastly to the boys’ pleasure at that time was the fact
that Pat Herron returned from the station with an empty hack!
That evening Willard came to Tom’s house and the boys confided
their problems to Mr. Benton and asked his advice. After talking
matters over it was decided that they should write an application for
a stand at the station and get as many signatures of Audelsville
citizens as they could. Then either Tom or Willard would make the
trip to Providence and see the superintendent personally.
“There’s a heap of red tape in railroad offices,” said Mr. Benton,
“and maybe if you sent your application through the mail you
wouldn’t hear anything from it for weeks and weeks. It’ll cost a
couple of dollars to make the trip, but you’ll hurry things up a whole
lot, I’d say.”
Mr. Benton did not, however, favor the scheme of paying Mr.
Simms, or anyone else, for the privilege of standing in front of his
store. “I don’t believe,” he said, “that it’s necessary for you to pay
anything. I guess you’ve got a right to stand anywhere along the
street you want to, just so you keep off the crossings. Of course, I
wouldn’t advise you to stop in front of Simms’, now that he’s looking
for money, but there’s plenty of other places along there.”
So the next morning, about twenty minutes before it was time for
the 9:01 to go through, Tom stopped The Ark in front of a small fruit
store, next door to Simms’, and hung out his sign where it could be
plainly seen from the hotel. A good many folks paused and looked
the car over and asked questions, having evidently read the article in
the paper of the day before. Even the occupants of the big trolley
car that stopped on the siding nearby showed unusual interest. Tom
was alone to-day, for it had been decided that Willard was to secure
names to the petition and was already at work. Connors’ hack drove
up in front of the hotel and Pat Herron scowled when he saw the
automobile across the street. But he made no remarks. Pat had
decided to treat the rival concern with silent contempt. Presently
three travelers emerged from the hotel and climbed into the hack,
although Tom squawked his horn enticingly. Then the hack rolled
away and Tom started his engine and followed. In front of the
common someone called and he slowed down and looked around. It
was Willard, just coming out of the Court House.
“How are you getting on?” asked Tom, casting a glance toward the
clock in the tower overhead.
“Fine and dandy. I’ve got fourteen names already. It won’t take
me any time to get fifty signatures. Everyone seems willing to sign.
One man, though, refused; Hall, of Hall and Duggett. It seems
Connors hauls their freight for them, and he said he didn’t want to
do anything to hurt Connors. But we’ll get plenty of signatures
without his. How are you getting on?”
Tom shrugged. “Nothing doing yet. There were three from the
hotel, but the hack got them. Well, I must be getting down; it’s most
nine.”
“Wait a minute. Did you see this morning’s Herald? It’s got
something about us. I guess they cribbed it from the News-Patriot.
I’ve got the paper at home and I’ll show it to you later. We’re getting
a heap of advertising, Tom.”
“Yes, but we aren’t getting much business,” replied Tom
pessimistically. “See you later, Will.”
CHAPTER XII
WILLARD ENCOUNTERS A FRIEND
T wo days later, Willard, armed with his petition, made the trip to
Providence. He had secured fifty-five signatures without difficulty,
and as they stood for the prominent and influential citizens of
Audelsville both he and Tom felt comfortably certain of success.
Willard had offered to let Tom make the journey, but Tom had
pointed out that if he did they would lose a day with the car. “Maybe
it wouldn’t make much difference,” he added gloomily, “but I guess
I’d better stay here and attend to business. We need all the money
we can get.”
So it was Willard who boarded the 9:01 that Monday morning and
settled himself back in a red plush seat with a feeling of vast
importance. The agent at Audelsville had told him where to find the
railroad offices when he reached his destination and had even taken
enough interest in the project to suggest that Willard see the
Division Superintendent in the forenoon. He would be in better
humor then, thought the local agent.
Possibly neither you nor I would have considered the trip to
Providence anything more than a bore, but to Willard, who seldom
traveled by train, it was quite exciting and very far from being a
bore. He arrived at Providence almost a whole hour before noon and
made his way at once to the offices of the railroad, which occupied
all of a big, old-fashioned brick building across the street from the
station. An elevator took him past one floor and deposited him on
the next, and he wandered down a long, dim corridor lined with
doors whose upper halves held ground glass variously inscribed with
figures and letters. Room 18 was found at last and, uncertain
whether to knock or walk boldly in, Willard finally turned the knob
and entered. Inside he found himself confronted by a counter which
ran the width of the room and behind which were three desks
occupied by as many busy men. As no one paid any attention to
him, at the end of a minute Willard summoned his courage.
“I’d like to see the Division Superintendent,” he announced to the
room at large. A young man with a worried expression looked up
and fixed Willard with a stern gaze.
“Business?” he demanded.
“Yes, sir,” replied Willard.
“Business?” demanded the man in a louder tone.
“Oh—why—if you please, I’d like to see him about getting a stand
at Audelsville,” stammered Willard.
“Stand?” The man frowned. A second occupant of the room
bobbed his head inquiringly around the corner of his desk, scowled
and disappeared again. Willard wondered if he was the
Superintendent. “What sort of a stand?” demanded the first man
crossly.
“Why, a stand for an automobile.” Willard pulled his petition from
his pocket and the man arose and came to the counter, stretching a
hand forth for the document. Willard gave it to him and the man
skimmed it quickly. Then:
“I see,” he said rather contemptuously, deftly dipping a pen in an
ink-well and proffering it. “All right. Put your name and address in
the corner here and leave it.”
“Leave it?” Willard, with pen in hand, hesitated.
“Yes. We’ll let you hear in a few days. Hurry up, please.”
“But—but I’d rather see Mr. Cummings himself, sir!”
“I dare say. But Mr. Cummings is busy. He can’t see everyone, you
know, kid.”
“But I came all the way from Audelsville, sir!” pleaded Willard. “I—
I might just as well have mailed this if—if I can’t see him.”
“Just as well,” replied the other, yawning frankly and glancing at
the electric clock on the wall. “Well?”
“Don’t you think he’d see me for just a minute? Would you mind
asking him, please?”
“Yes, I’d mind very much,” was the impatient reply. “If you want to
leave this application put your name on it. If you don’t, move along.
We’re busy here, my young friend.”
“But——” Willard sighed disappointedly—“if I could just wait here
until he was at leisure——”
The door behind him opened and closed briskly, and a familiar
voice asked: “Cummings in, Jones?”
“Yes, Mr. Latham. Step right in, sir.” The man, now smiling and
eager to please, hurried toward the end of the counter, lifted a
hinged section of it and stood aside while the newcomer hurried
through and tapped at a door which Willard had not noticed. In an
instant the door had opened and closed and Mr. Latham had
disappeared into the inner office. The clerk, for Willard decided that
he was no more than that, sauntered back.
“That was Mr. Latham, wasn’t it?” asked Willard.
The clerk nodded.
“Well, I guess I’d like to speak to him when he comes out. May I
wait here?”
“Do you know Mr. Latham?”
Willard nodded as carelessly as the clerk. There was nothing to be
gained by modesty, he felt. “Yes, I know him,” he said.
Evidently impressed, the clerk moved back to his desk. “All right.
Take a seat there.”
Willard returned his petition to his pocket and retired to one of the
two chairs along the wall. Ten minutes passed, and then ten minutes
more, and finally the door opened again and Mr. Latham came
through. Willard waited until the first vice-president was outside the
counter. Then:
“Mr. Latham, may I speak to you a minute, please?” he asked,
intercepting the gentleman in front of the door.
“Eh?” The official paused. “Certainly, my boy. Hello, I’ve seen you
before, haven’t I?”
“Yes, sir, I—we—took you to the paper mills the other day, you
know; at Audelsville, sir.”
“Of course! How are you?” Mr. Latham shook hands heartily. “Let
me see, did you tell me your name?”
“No, sir. My name’s Willard Morris.”
“Well, Morris, what can I do for you? Here, let’s sit down a minute.
Now then!”
“We want to be allowed to stand our automobile at the station, sir.
You see, as it is now, they won’t let us because Connors, the livery
stable man, has the—the exclusive privilege. It’s hard to get
passengers, Mr. Latham, unless you’re at the platform. Folks don’t
see you, sir.”
“I suppose not. What’s this?”
“It’s a petition. It’s got fifty-five signatures on it, sir. I thought
maybe——”
“Very business-like, Morris.” Mr. Latham smiled as he ran his eyes
over the petition. “Well, you’d better see Cummings about this. He’s
the one to go to.”
“That’s what I came here for, sir, but they said he was too busy
and wanted me to leave this.”
“Oh, I guess he’s got time to see you. You come with me.” Mr.
Latham led the way past the counter and knocked again at the inner
door. “Charlie, here’s a young gentleman who wants to see you,”
announced the First Vice-President as, followed by Willard, he
entered and closed the door again. “He’s got a petition signed by
about half the citizens of Audelsville. See what you can do for him,
will you? Morris, this is Mr. Cummings. Charlie, shake hands with Mr.
Willard Morris, one of Audelsville’s hustling citizens.”
The big man at the big desk smiled and shook hands. “Glad to do
anything I can for you, Mr. Morris,” he said. “What’s wanted?”
“Show him that document, Morris,” directed Mr. Latham.
Mr. Cummings read it and then looked dubiously at Mr. Latham.
“Seems to me we’ve let somebody have the station privilege at
Audelsville, Henry,” he said.
“We have, but competition’s the life of trade, they say, Charlie,
and these young gentlemen are particular friends of mine. I guess
we can let them in, can’t we?”
“I suppose so.” Mr. Cummings pressed one of a row of buttons at
the edge of his desk and almost at once a clerk entered. “Dictation,
Graham.” The clerk seated himself, pulled a book from his pocket
and poised a pencil. Mr. Cummings fixed his eyes on the ceiling. “To
——” He glanced at the petition in his hand—“To Benton and Morris
Transportation Company, Audelsville, R. I. ‘Gentlemen: Your
application for platform privilege at Audelsville station received and
same is hereby granted, terminable at our discretion. We have
notified our agent to afford you space for one’—eh?”
“Could you make it two, please?” asked Willard.
The Passenger Agent shot a glance of inquiry at the First Vice-
President, and the latter, with a smile, nodded.
“All right. ‘Space for two vehicles. Respectfully, and so forth.’
Typewrite that immediately, please, and I’ll sign it. Here’s another.
‘Agent, Audelsville, R. I. Benton and Morris Transportation Company
granted platform privilege until further notice. You will provide them
space for two vehicles. Respectfully and so forth.’ That all I can do
for you?”
“Yes, sir, thank you very much,” replied Willard. “Good morning.”
CHAPTER XIII
PAT HERRON LOSES HIS TEMPER