Hawver had finished his story and both men were silent. Dr. Frayley absently drummed on the table with his fingers.
"Did he say anything today？" he asked "anything from which you inferred that he was not dead？"
Hawver stared and did not reply.
"Perhaps， " continued Frayley， "he made a sign， a gesture—lifted a finger， as in warning. It' s a trick he had—a habit when saying something serious—announcing the result of a diagnosis， for example."
"Yes， he did—just as his apparition had done. But， good God！ did you ever know him？"
Hawver was apparently growing nervous.
"I knew him. I have read his book， as will every physician some day. It is one of the most striking and important of the century' s contributions to medical science. Yes， I knew him； I attended him in an illness three years ago. He died."
Hawver sprang from his chair， manifestly disturbed. He strode forward and back across the room； then approached his friend， and in a voice not altogether steady， said："Doctor， have you anything to say to me—as a physician？"
"No， Hawver； you are the healthiest man I ever knew. As a friend I advise you to go to your room. You play the violin like an angel. Play it； play something light and lively. Get this cursed bad business off your mind."
The next day Hawver was found dead in his room， the violin at his neck， the bow upon the string， his music open before him at Chopin' s Funeral March.
“我這個人不像你們有些醫生那麽迷信，有些醫生既喜歡玩弄‘科學人士”的頭銜，又迷信那些非科學的東西。”霍弗振振有詞地說著，好像在反駁控告自己的人，其實根本沒有人控告他，“坦白地說，在你們醫生中間，確實有一些人——確切來說，是極少數的人相信人的靈魂不會在這個世界上消失，相信那些被你們隨便地叫做‘鬼怪”的幽靈。在這一點上，我和你們不一樣。但是，我十分相信，活著的人有時候可以在他根本沒有出現的地方被人們看見。當然，這個人肯定曾經在這個地方居住過。可能是由於他在那個地方居住了好長一段時間，也可能是他對周圍的影響太強烈，因此，周圍的萬事萬物都留下了他的印記。說實在的，我知道一個人的性格和品質能夠對他所處的環境產生極大的影響。如果有人長期受他的影響，那麽一段時間之後，這個受他影響的人的眼裏就會浮現出他的身影。毋庸置疑，這種能影響周圍環境的性格和品質必須是恰當的、正確的；能夠浮現他的身影的眼睛也不是隨便某個人的眼睛，必須是恰當的人的眼睛——比如說，我的眼睛。”