Cheyenne record., 1916-03-02

were the enemies Of the plague
germs"
And you can't see these germ
things. Granser." HareLip directed.
"anl here you gable. gable. gable
about them as if they was anythiLr.
when they're nothing at all. Anything
you can't see ain't-that's what Fight
ing things that ain't with things that
amt! They must have been all fools
In them days That's why they
croaked i amt goin' to believe in
such rot. I toll you that"
Granser promptly began to weep.
while Edwin hotly took up his defense.
Look here. Hare-Lip. you believe in
lots of things you can't see."
Hare-Lip shook his head,
You believe in dead men walking
about You lever seen one dead man
walk about"
Il tell you see 'em. last winter.
when | was wolf hunting with dad"
We'll. you always spit when you
cross running water" Edwin chal-
lenged.
That's to keep off bad luck" was
Hare-Lip's defense.
You believe in bad luck?"
Sure"
AN you amt never seen bad luck.
Edwin concluded triumphantly. You're
just as bad ds Granser and his germs.
You believe in what you don see. Go
on. Granser
Hare-Lip. Crushed by this metaphysi-
cal defeat. remained silent. and the old
man went on. Often and often. though
this narrative must not be clogged by
the details. was Gralser's tale inter-
rupted while the boys squabbled
among themselves. Also. among them.
selves they kept up a constant. low
voiced explanation and conjecture, as
they strove to follow the old man into
his unknown and vanished world.
The Scarlet Death broke ,ut in San
Francisco. The first death came on a
Monday morning BY Thursday they
wee dying like flies in Oakland and
San Francisco. They died everywhere
in their bed. at their work. walking
along the street. 1t was on Tuesday
that l saw my first death-Miss Coll.
bran. one of r-y students, sitting right
there before my eyes. in my lecture
room. l noticed her face while ! was
talking. 1t hfd suddenly turned scar.
let I ceased speaking and could only
look at her. for the first fear of the
plague was Already on all Of US and we
knew that 1t he'd come. The young
women screamed and ran out OF the
room. So did the young men run out.
all bat two. Miss Collbran's convul-
sions were very mild and lasted less
than min Lte. One Of the young men
fetched her a glass Of water She
drank only q little of it. and cried
out:
my feet: All sensation has left
them
After minute she said. I have no
feet I am unaware that I have any
feet. And my knees are cold. l can
scarcely feel that | have knees.
"She lay on the floor. bundle Of
notebooks under her head And we
could do nothing. The coldness and
the numbness crept up past her hips
to her heart. and when 1t reached her
heart she was dead. In fifteen min.
utes, by the clock-I timed it-she was
dead. there, in my own classroom,
dead. And she was 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 was the
Scarlet Death.
Yet in those few minutes 1 re-
NAMED with the Dung woman inrmy
classroom. the ala. q had spread over
the university: and the students. by
thousands. all of them. had deserted
the lecture rooms and laboratories.
When l emerged, on my way to make
report to the president Of the faculty.
l found the university deserted. Across
the campus we're several stragglers
hurrying for their homes. Two of them
were running.
President Hoag found in his of.
fee, alone. looking very old and very
gray, with a multitude of wrinkles in
his face that had never seen before.
At the sight of me. he pulled himself
to his feet and tottered away to the
inner Office. banging the door after
him and locking it You see, he knew
] had been exposed. and he was afraid
He shouted to me through the door to
go away. shall never forget my feel
ings as 1 walked down the silent cor
ridors and out across that deserted
campus. l was not afraid. I had been
oxnoaed and I looked upon mvaelf as