Evening star., 1921-09-04

kerchief tied round it under her chin.
eighteenth century style. She used
and dropped the final st."
About I o'clock in the afternoon,
Mrs. Arthurs, who was 4 comfortable.
motherly woman. full to her plump
chin of simple common sense, put down
been serving tea In the women's
house to the assembled company. and
said plainly:
I'm tired of all this pretending and
nonsense. We're here because we're
likely to get pneumonia plague. some
the period Of infectionT'
Mrs. Waite "bridled" under her lace
martingale. famed herself with a pa
per fan she had made during the
day. and laughed high. whinnying
laugh.
"It is all equal to me-" she said. II
do not care. We meet death as gentle
men and ladies'"
.Poppyeock" said the American
'I do, sir" said the stewardess. Not
much. but the doctor told me the
period Of incubation was three days
And how long does the thing take.
''Dincrent periods" said the stew
ardess. She had seen Mrs. Waite's
eyes, and the parted lips, like those
Of the Lost Soul in Michelangelo' 3
Judgment" that showed behind the
going to tell all she knew.
THEY all knew next day. for Agnes
father refused food at breakfast;
complained of bitter cold during the
morningIn a temperature that kept
every one gasping for breath-and
by lunch time was terribly, unmis-
takably ill. The Unseen Passenger
had struck.
He would not come into the house.
but sat moaning and fighting for
breath upon the burning sand below.
And there, with a face like an angel
manner Joined him. and led him away
into the long brushwood shed away
behind the palms, which none had
spoken of. And in that rude isolation
ward Arthurs did his best for the
first to fall. knowing we'll how little
there was to be done. It. was q worse
four hours Agnes father was dead.
Arthurs took the body by the feet
drew 1t along the sand. away from
the houses. and dropped 1t into the
channel that ran through the reef
The tide went like q mill race out to
sea when it turned: the sharks would
self, bathed. dressed and Joined the
others again. But now the hand OF
the Unseen Passenger hovered almost
visibly above his head; and the face
Of his wife was pitiful to see. From
this time on the two spent hardly &
fA ~ yUa " ~
the rest, talking to one another. in
the little oblongs of shadow thrown
by the houses early and late In the
day-the only shade to be had out OF
doors. Their voices were low and
made little sound: there was little
these days. save for the wearisome
endless rushing of the southeast
trade. the quarreling notes Of leather
necks In the palms and the high. fal
scream Of parrots, red. green. violet
and yellow. flying homeward when the
on Of the 'ps psssensers s had altoSether . dis.
appeared since Agnes father died
And still 1t was only four days since
they had left the ship.
Arthurs sickened in three days more
His wife went with him to the brush
food was brought by the others and
laid on the ground near the doorway.
Then Mrs. Arthurs came out. with her
comely face thinned down to q mere
shadow Of its former rosy curyAs. and
her eyes burned out with tears. She
had tied q rope to his feet; she fiuna
1t to the men. and ran away into the
bush alone. while they dragged the body
away, and slung 1t into the mill race
Of the passage through the reef.
When Mrs. Arthura sickened, which
was i've days later, the little band Of
contacts saw how the thing was going
It was Law. seemingly, that he or sha
who cared for the smittsn one to the
end should BE- the nsxt to 60, Thu
/ stswafdesa had miraculously escaped
when tending little Agnes. but on thu
ship there were many means Of disin-
lection and safeguard that were I'M