Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-03-01

to walk there by themselves, SO 40
to avoid laying hands on them. 1t
was heartrending. But still the
plague ragged among US, and room at.
ter room. was f1iieu with the dead anI
dying. And so we who were yet clean
retreated to the next floor, and to the
next. before this sea of the dead. that,
room by room and floor by floor. In.
undated the building.
The place became charnel house,
and in the middle OF the night the sur
vivors fed forth, taking nothing with
them except arms and ammunition and
a heavy store Of timed foods. We
!camped on the opposite side Of the
campus from the providers, and, while
some stood guard. others Of us volun.
teered to scout into the city in quest
of horses, motor cars. carts and wag.
ons. or anything that would carry out
provisions and enable US to emulate
the banded workingmen had seen
fighting their way out to the open
country.
II was one Of these scouts, and
Doctor Hoyle, remembering that his
motor car had been left behind in his
home garage, told me to look for 1t.
We secuted in pairs, and Dombey,
young undergraduate, accompanied
me. We had to cross half mile OF
the residence portion Of the city to
get to Doctor Hoyle's home Here the
buildings stood apart, in the midst
of trees and grassy lawns, and here
the fires had played freaks, burning
whole blocks, skipping blocks, and oft
en- skipping single house In block.
And here, too. the providers were still
at their work. We carried our auto
matte pistols openly in our hands. and
looked desperate enough. forsooth, to
keep them from attacking US. But at
Doctor Hoyle's house the thing hap
pened. Untouched by fire, even as we
came to it the smoke and flames burst
forth.
THE miscreant who had set fire to
1t staggered down the steps and out
along the driveway. Sticking out OF
his coat pockets were bottles of whis.
ky, and he was very drunk. My
first impulse was to shoot him, and
l have never ceased regretting that ]
did not Staggering and Numbering
to himself, with bloodshot eyes and
raw and bleeding slash down one side
of his bewhiskered face. he was alto
gether the most nauseating specimen
of degradation and filth had ever
encountered. did not shoot him, and
he leaned against a tree on the lawn
to let US go by. It was the most alb,
solute, wanton act. Just as we were
opposite him, he suddenly drew . PTS;
toll and shot Dombey through the head.
The next instant shot him. But II
was too late. Dombey expired with
out groan. immediately, 4 doubt ii
he ever knew what had happened to
him.
Leaving the two corpses. / hurried
on past the burning house to the gar.
age. and there found Doctor HoyIe's
motor car. The tanks were filed with
gasoline, and it was ready for use.
And 1t was In this car that ! threaded
the streets of the ruined city and came
back to the survivors on the campus.
The other scouts returned, but none
had been SO fortunate. Professor Fair.
mead had found a Shetland pony, but
the poor creature. tied in stable
and abandoned for days, was So weak
from want of food and water that It
could carry no burden at all. Some
of the men were for turning it loose.
but insisted that we should lead it
along with us, SO that, II we got out Of
food. we would have 1t to eat.
There were forty-seven Of us when
we started. many being women and
children. The president Of the facul.
,ty, an old man to begin with, and now
.hopefessly broken by, the awful hap
penings of the past week, rode in the
motor car with several young chill
dren and the aged mother of Profess
sor Fairmead. Wathope. a young pro-
;fessor Of English. who had a grievous
bullet wound in his Neg, drove the
car. The rest Of US walked, Profess
sor Fairmead leading the pony.
Our progress was painfully slow.
the women and children could not
walk fast. They did not dream Of
walking, my grandsons. in the way
al people walk today. In truth, none
OF US knew how to walk. It was not
until after the plague that 4
learned really to walk. SO It was that
the pace Of the slowest was the pace
of all, for we dared not separate on &C.
count Of the providers. There were not
30 many now Of these human beasts Of
prey. The plague had already we'll
diminished their numbers, but enough
still lived to be q constant menace to
US. Many Of the beautiful residences
were untouched by fire, yet smoking
ruins were everywhere. The providers,
too, seemed to have got over their In
sensate desire 70 burn, and it was
more rarely that We saw houses fresh
ly on IRE.
Several Of US secuted among the
private garages In search Of motor cars
and gasoline. But in this we were un-
successful. The first great flights from
the cities had swept all such utilities
away. Calgan, hne young man. was
lost In this work. He was shot by
providers while crossing lawn. Yet
this was our only casualty. though
once . drunken brute Deliberately
opened ire on all Of US. Luckily. hs