The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1915-02-19
CHAPTER discontinued.

IAN hour later, at window on the
ground floor. | heard pandemonium
break out In the camps of the prowl-
ers. There were cries and screams,
and shots from many pistols. AS we
afterward conjectured, this fight had
been precipitated by an attempt on
the part Of those that were we'll to
drive out those that were sick. At
any rate. number of the plague
stricken providers escaped across the
campus and drifted against our doors.
We warned them back, but they
cursed us and discharged a fusillade
from their pistols, Professor Merry
weather. at one of the windows, was
instantly killed, the bullet striking
MIN squarely between the eyes. We
opened fire in turn, and all the prowl-
ers fed away with the exception of
three. One was a woman. The
plague was on them and they were
reckless. Like foul fiends, there In the
red glare from the skies, with faces
blazing. they continued to curse us
and fire ct us. One Of the men shot
with my own hand. After that the
other man and the woman, still ours
ing US, lay down under our windows,
where we we're compelled to watch
them die Of the plague.
The situation was critical. The ex-
ploslons Of the powder magazines had
broken all the windows of the Chem
tstry building, SO that we we're ex-
posed to the germs from the corpses.
The sanitary committee was called up
on to act. and It responded nobly.
Two men were required to go out and
remove the corpses, and this meant
the probable sacrifice of their own
lives, for. having performed the task,
they were not to be permitted to re-
enter the building One of the pro-
fessors. who was bachelor, and one
OF the undergraduates volunteered.
They babe good-by to us and went
forth. They were heroes. They gave
up their lives that four hundred 9TH
ers might live. After they had per-
formed their work, they stood for a
moment. at distance, looking at
us wistfully. They they waved their
hands in farewell and went away
slowly across the campus toward the
burning city.
And yet 1t was all useless. The
next morning the first one of us was
smitten with the plague-a little nurse
girl in the family of Professor Stout.
1t was no time for weakened, senti-
mental policies, On the chance that
she might be the only one, we thrust
her forth from the building and com
manded her to be gone. She went away
slowly across the campus wringing
her hands and crying pitifully. We
felt like brutes, but what were we
to do? There were four hundred of
us, and individuals had to be sacri.
feed.
I'm one Of the laboratories three
families had domiclled themselves,
and that afternoon we found among
them no less than four corpses and
seven cases of the plague in all its
different stages.
Then it was that the horror began.
Leaving the dead lie, we forced the
living ones to segregate themselves
in another room The plague began
to. break out among the rest OF us,
and as fast as the symptoms appeared,
we sent the stricken ones to these seq
regated rooms. We compelled them
to walk there by themselves, SO as
TO avoid laying hands on them. It
was heartrending. But still the
plague ragged among us, and room az.
Ter room was filled with the dead and
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 fled 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
or horses, motor cars, carts and wag.
ons, or anything that would carry out
provisions and enable us to emulate
the banded worlkingmen | 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 it.
We secuted 10 pairs, and Dombey,
'oung undergraduate, accompanied
ne. We had 60 cross half a mile of
he residence portion of tho city to
ret TO Doctor HoyIes home. Here the
Buildings stood apart, In the midst
L trees and grassy lawns, and here