Tombstone epitaph., 1915-01-10

it to the. meteorological test A man without any visible symptoms may be full of the leprosy bacilli."
 "Then you or l, for all we know" suggested. may be full of it now"
 Kersdale shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
 Who can say? It takes seven years for it to incubate. If you have any doubts go and see Doctor Hervey. He'll just snip out a piece of your skin and let you know in a jiffy."
 Later on he introduced me to Doctor Heryey, who loaded me down with board of health reports and pamphlets on the subject. and took me out to Kalihi, the Honolulu receiving station, where suspects were examined and confirmed lepers were held for de- portation to Molokai. These deporta- tions occurred about once a month, when. the last good-bys said, the lepers were marched on board the lit- tie steamer, the Noeau, and carried down to the settlement.
 One afternoon. writing letters at the club. Jack Kersdale dropped in on me. Just the man 1 want to see," was his greeting. I'll show you the saddest aspect of the whole situation-the lepers wailing as they depart for Molokai. The Noeau will be taking them on board in a few minutes. But let me warn you not to let your feel ings be narrowed. Real as their grief is, they'd vail whole sight harder a year hence If the board of health tried to take them from Molokai. We've just time for whisky and soda I've carriage outside. It won't take up five minutes to get down to the wharf" |"
 To the wharf we drove. Some forty sad wretches, amid their mats, blank. cts and luggage of various sorts. were squatting on the stringer piece. The Noeau had just arrived, and was mak- ing fast to a lighter that lay between her and the wharf. A MT. McVeigh, the superintendent of the settlement, was overseeing the embarkation, and to him I was introduced, also to Doc tor Georges, one of the board of health physicians whom had already met at Kalihi. The lepers were a woebegone lot But here and there I noticed fair. ly good-looking persons, with no ap- parent signs of the fell disease upon them. One, I noticed, a little white girl. not more than twelve. with blue however, showed the sign. On my re- marking upon the sadness of her alien situation among the brown-skinned afflicted ones, Doctor Georges replied:
 "Oh, don't know. It's a happy day in her life. She comes from Kauai Her father is a brute. And now that she has developed the disease. she is going to join her mother at the settle ment. Her mother was sent down there three years ago-a very bad case"
 You can't always tell from appear ances." Mr. McVeigh explained. That man there, that big chap, who looks the pink of condition with nothing the matter with him, I happen to know, has mark on his foot and another on his shoulder blade. Then there are others-there, see that girls hand. the one who is smoking the cigarette. See her twisted fingers. That's the anesthetic form. It attacks the nerves. You could cut her fingers of with a dull knife. or rub them off on a nutmeg grater and she would not ex- perience the slightest sensation"
 "Yes, but that fine-iooking woman, there" I persisted; surely. there can't be anything the matter with her She is too glorious and gorgeous al- together"
 "A sad case" Mir McVeigh an- swered over his shoulder, already