Cheyenne record., 1916-03-09
151o
SCARLET SSi{ PLAGUE
u JACK LONDON

the windows of an adjoining store. a
place where shoes were sold, AMI de-
liberately set fire to It. did not go
to the groceryman's assistance. The
time for such acts had already passed.
Civilization was crumbling, and it was
each for himself.
Il went away hastily, down a cross
street. and at the first corner l saw
another tragedy. Two men of the
working class had caught a man and
a woman with two children. and were
robbing them. knew the man by
sight, though l had not been intro
duced to him. He was a poet whose
verses I had long admired Yet l did
not 60 to his help for at the moment
l came upon the scene there was a
pistol shot. and l saw him sinking to
the ground. The woman screamed,
and she was felled by fist blow by
one Of the brutes. cried out threat
eningly, whereupon they discharged
their pistols at me, and l ran away
around the corner. Here was blocked
by an advancing confagration. The
buildings on both sides were burning.
and the street was filled with smoke
and flame. From somewhere in that
murk came woman's voice calling
shrilly for help. But | did not co to
her. A mans heart turned to iron
amid such scenes. and one heard all
too many appeals for help.
Returning to the corner. found
the two robbers were gone. The poet
and his wife lay dead on the pave
ment. 1t was shocking sight. The
two children had vanished-whither |
could not tell. And knew, now. why
1t was that the fleeing persons l en-
countered slipped along so furtively
and with such white faces. In the
midst of our civilization. down in our
slums and labor ghettos. we had bred
race of barbarians, of savages: and
now. in the time of our calamity, they
turned upon us like the wild beasts
they were and destroyed us. And they
destroyed themselves as we'll. The.
inflamed themselves with strong drink
and committed a thousand atrocities,
quarreling and killing one another In
the general madness. One group OF
workingmen l saw, of the better sort,
who had banded together, and. with
their women and children in their
midst. the sick and aged in litters
and being carried, and with a number
of horses pulling truckload of pro-
visions, they were fighting their way
out of the city They made fine spec
tacle as they came down the street
through the drifting smoke, though
they nearly shot me when l first ap-
peared in their path AS they went
by. one of their leaders shouted out
to G:e IL spologetic explanation. He
said tiicy were killing the robbers and
looters on sight, and that they had
thus banded together as the only
means by which to escape the prowl-
erS.
1T was here that l saw for the
often. One of the marching men had
suddenly shown the unmistakable
IrA-k of the plague. Immediately those
about him drew away, and he, without
remonstrance, stepped out Of his
place to let them pass on. A woman.
most probably his wife, attempted to
follow him. She was leading little
boy by the hand. But the husband
commanded her sternly to go on. while
others laid hands on her and re-
strained her from following him. This
l saw. and | saw the man also, with
his scarlet blaze of face. step into a
doorway on the opposite side of the
street. heard the report Of his pis-
tol, and saw him sink lifeless to the
ground.
after being turned aside twice
again by advancing fires, succeeded
in getting through to the university.
On the edge Of the campus l came up
on a party OF university folk who were
going in the direction of the Chemls-
try building. They were all family
men. and their families were with
them, including the nurses and the
servants Professor Badminton greet.
ed me. and had difficulty in recog-
nizIng him. Somewhere he had gone
through flames. and his beard was
singed of. AboIt his head was a
bloody bandage, and his clothes were
filthy He told me he had been cruel.
ly beaten by prowlers, and that his
brother had been killed the previous
night. in the defense Of their dwell.
ing.
Midway across the campus. he
pointed suddenly to Mrs. Swinton's
face The unmistakable scarlet was
there. Immediately all the other wom-
en- set up a screaming and began to