Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-06

everywhere Trask was the name of the man who
succeeded in this but within. thirty hours he was
dead Then came the struggle in all the laboratories
to find something that would kill the plague germs.
All drugs failed. You see, the problem was to get
a drug, or serum, that would kill the germs in the
body and not kill the body. They tried to fight it
with other germs to put into the body OF a sick man
germs that were enemies OF the plague germs"
And YOU can't see these germ-things, Granser,"
Hare-Lip objected, and here you gable gable,
gable about them as if they was anything when
they're nothing at all. Anything you cant see,
amt, that's what. Fighting things that amt with
things that amt. They must have been all fools
in them days That's why they croaked | amt
goin' to believe in such rot, | tell you that
Granser promptly began to weep, while Edwin
hotly took up his defence
Look here, Hare-Lip, you believe in lots of
things you cant see
Hare-Lp shook his head
you believe in dead men walking about. You
never seen one dead man walk about
Il tell you | seen EN-, last winter, when was
wol-hunting with dad
We'll, you always spit when you cross running
water, Edwin challenged.
That's to keep off bad luck was Hare-Lips
defence.
you believe in bad lucll?"
Sure"
|
Guided trumphantly. You're just as bad as.
Granser and his germs. You believe in what you
don't see. Go on Granser.'
Hare-Lp, crushed by this metaphysical defeat,
remained silent, and the old man went out. Often
and often, though this narrative must not be cogged
by the details, was Granser's tale interrupted while
the boys squabbIed among themselves. Also among
themselves they kept up constant low-voiced eX-
change OF explanation and conjecture, they strove
to follow the old man into his unknown and vanished
world.
The Scarlet Death broke out in San Francisco.
The first death came on a Monday morning. BY
Thursday they were dying like flies in Oakland and
San Francisco They died everywhere-in their
beds, at their work, walking along the street. 1t
was on Tuesday that | saw my first death-AlisS
Collbran, OF my students, sitting right there
before my eyes, in my lecture room. | noticed her
face while | was talking. 1t had suddenly turned
scarlet. | ceased speaking and could only look
at her, for the first fear Of the plague already
on all OF us and we knew that it had come. The
young women screamed and ran out Of the room.
So did the young men run out all but two. Miss
Collbrans commissions were very mild and lasted less
than minute. One of the young men fetched her
a glass OF water. She drank only little of it, and
cried out:
My feet! All sensation has left them.
After minute she said, | have no feet. | am
unaware that | have any feet. And my knees are
cold. | can scarcely feel that | have knees"
She lay on the floor bundle of notebooks under
her head. And we could do nothing. The GOODNESS
and the numbness crept up past her hips to her
heart, and when it reached her heart she was dead
In fifteen minutes by the coCk-I had timed it-she
was dead there in my own classroom dead. And
she was a very beautiful, strong, healthy young
woman. And from the first sign OF the plague to
her death only. fifteen minutes elapsed. That will
show you how swift the Scarlet Death
Yet in those few minutes | remained with the