The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-10-02
CHAPTER NJ.

Sydney, New South Wales-Im at
the back of Gods speed, at the tail end
of His earth, amid a strange people
who are Americans without the Ameri-
cans "go," and Englishmen without
the ballast of the Englishman' conser-
vatism; in a land in which have flock
ed the venturesome and the visionary,
the restless and the disconnected.
| am in Sydney, the capital of New
South Wales. Since the close of the
last chapter I have literally Crushed
across the astonished earth and am
now sitting in "the doctors quarters"
at the quarantine station, which are
situated Immediately on your right as
you enter this most glorious of glorious
! harbors.
| When | reached Sydney found the
whole city in ierment of excitement
over case of smallpox that had been
discovered the day before in the chi
nese quarters.
Twelve hours after my arrival note
was brought to me at my hotel from
the government medical officer, re-
questing an immediate interview. /
found him at his club.
"You are lately from London, 1 be-
lieve, DR.. Rigby?"
81 am
"Do you know anything of small
pox?"
81 venture to lay claim to a consid-
cradle experience of the disease"
"Will you undertake the stamping
out of what in this unvaccinated COM
munity might become very frightful
edipemic?"
| gladly undertook the task and on
the following morning was installed in
my new office. Under the name of Mr.
Johnson l took lodgings in a quiet
street; twas necessary to hide my
identity under nom de guerre, as my
opinions, my every movement, and
almost every word l uttered, were re-
ported in the morning and evening
papers, and there were the most faith
full portraits of me in the illustrated
weekDies. l was Stunned as one hav-
ing leprosy. I don't know what my
landlady must have thought, for almost
every hour of the day and night saw
policeman rush up in state of wild
excitement to report "another SUSPECT
GUS case" and then from every corner
and recess in the neigh borhod there
would emerge one of the army OF re-
porters set to watch me, with his terri
BILE notebook.
And so | awoke each morning to find
myself more and more famous, with the
salary of prime minister, with work
that had been daily matter of course
in London, and looked upon as any
thing but heroic, with popularity
that politician might have envied,
amid new scenes and new surroundings.
l might have been and should have
been really happy but for the ever
present memory of Edith and the
haunting Nemesis of my other self
In the dizzy whirl of intense excite
ment Edith was not forgotten. The
faint possibility of still being near her,
and the picture of the old colonel read
ing my name in the papers any morn
ing, were constantly before me.
'As slight return for your kindness
and forbearance. said a reporter to me
one afternoon, 81 have run down from
the treasury to tell you piece of news
that have just learned that may be of
great Importance to you"
THAT'S very good of you; and what
is the news?"
"There has been a meeting of the
cabinet, and it has been decided to send
you into quarantine"
"Me to quarantine. On what
grounds?"
swell, they have an idea that if you
go first to see a genuine case, then only
suspicious one, you infect the latter
by taking germs of the disease with
you"
| Has it not occurred to them that this
new system will involve finding new
medical man for each suspicious case,
and il the suspicious case should turn
out to be genuine one, locking him up
(the medical mani, as well as the
patient in quarantine?"
81 don't suppose it has; they are too
utterly lunatic to think of anything
properly. At any rate, doctor, you
will have to go; but allow me to give
you one word of advice and that Is,
don't 60 voluntarily, make the police
man take you. If he only puts his
hand upon his shoulder that will be
sufficient. / don't think they have
the legal right to arrest you"
/ thanked him for his advice as he
rose to go. And if this book should
fall into his hands he must allow me
through the medium of its pages to
thank him again; his caution was
worth many hundreds of pounds to me-