Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-01-11

! had seen them-that night OF Lessons
carefully planned expedition into a
suspected quarter. II was at night.
and red lanterns had lighted the street
down its crooked length. Suddenly
there had burst upon them and the
three agents who accompanied Lesson
a hideous babel OF cracked voices;
horrible spectacle Of CHASTITY faces;
leprous mob that leered and jeered at
them; that drove them point by point
toward the end of the street Of leperS;
a yelling crowd that received the bull
lets from their revoIvers and died
noisily; a hiIhv crew that tried TO
touch them. that longed 10 render
them as loathSome as itself.
Leeson had been killed. and Nelson
tried to forget the sight IS the rest OF
them got away. The next day he ted
a party back TO the street. but it was
deserted. Even poor Lessons body
had disappeared. After this outbreak
the matter went under the supervi-
sion of n large medical corps. and the
colony at Anam was augmented by
several hundred cases. Nelson resign
ed from the service and went home.
sickened of the whole dubious web OF
oriental life. thankful that he had es-
capped contact-that he was clean.
Now they had found him out they
would take their revenge for his he
trayal of their outbreak. 1t pleased
them to call him by Lessons name.
As Leeson he would probably die in
this hole in the ground under San
Francisco.
Nelson determined to force some inn
mediate action from the men who had
sprung up in this faraway city to call
him TO account for his setting the
hounds of law upon their trail. All his
hideous dreams of the past year seemed
to have been realized in the strange
events of this day that would I'M
doubtedly be his last on earth.
1t had been a strange day. and even
now. face to face with death-for the
presence of these White Brothers
meant nothing Iess-he seemed TO be
moving in dream more frightful than
anything hrs sleeping mind had con-
ceived
Fire ahead" he said recklessly;
I'm not afraid OF you. Come on.
every DEVILS imp of you." He flashed
out the revolver he always carried just
as they arose in a body and came at
! him. a CHASTITY company with stretch
ing. clawing fingers and fiendish eyes.
Then Jay Nelson awoke. He sat up
in bed, his brow dripping sweat and
his heart pounding with excitement,
for once more he had dreamed of the
japanese umbrella and the horrible
band whose emblem 1t was. This was
the worst dream of all, and he muir
INJURED devout thanks that il had been
dream.
Sitting there with the morning sun
shine streaming into the room and
fresh breeze from the bay ruffiing his
hair. Nelson saw the early newspaper
slid under his door. Eager TO be In
touch with the commonplace Of every
day life. he fetched it and read the
headlines. After awhile. in a corner
of the sheet. he read that the Hong
kong authorities were satisfied that
they had rid that city of its lepers.
The White Brotherhood had been
broken up. and most OF its members
were in Anam colony. The leader, Tai
Laao. was dead. Captain Lessons
death had been avenged.
Jay Nelson went forth that morning
a care free man to Interview the silk
importer in Chinatown. at last he was
emancipated from fear. He would
dream no more.