The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-03-11
THE RAINS CAME
BY o 0 RROMFIRLn


Not much before noon. They
cant risk flying by night IN mon
soon weather"
Have you seen Homer Smiley ?"
HE came IN a little after dark.
Everything is all right at the mis-
sion, except that Mrs. Hoggett-
Egburry had Mysteries when she
heard that Lady Esketh's servant
had a place In the plane and she,
the wife of an Imperial Bank man.
ager, had been lett behind. Smiley
wants to send both her and Mrs.
Simon to Bombay"
ut would be better for every
body"
He knew that the morsel of Cos
sip had brought her relief, pushing
away for an instant the sense of
horror and fear. He felt as he
knew she did-the terror of failure.
The subject of Mrs. Hoggett-Eg-
hurry and Mrs. Simon was always
comic to both of them.
Its poor Aunt Phoebe who has
to put up with them"
Miss MacDaid rose, gathered up
her papers, and said, "Ill go now
and wake Lady Esketh, so that
Mrs. Gupta can get some rest. If
anything comes up, don't hesitate
to call me"
In the light that entered the
window from the great pyre out
side the music school, she found
Lady Esketh's bed, and bending
over her, she shook her abruptly.
Lady E,sketh Weakened almost at
once and sat up on the edge of the
bed.
Its time to relieve Mrs. Gupta."
she said. "I1l come myself to take
your place at g." And then In the
red glare she saw the curl papers
that covered the head of Lady
Esketh, and the sight of them was
like the effect of a black storm
cloud appearing above the horizon
on a brilliant day.
You'd better take those things
off your hair" she said. They
might frighten the patients"
"Of course said Lady Esketh,
and began unwrapping the bits of
paper. 1t took quite a long time to
unfasten them all. but Miss Mac
Daid waited. grimly watching like
a headmistress, a little alarmed as
n by n they disappeared and
left the blonde hair no longer lank
and striney, but curled into neat
waves. The effect was even more
alarming when Lady Esketh ran
her fingers lightly through her
hair and let it fall golden and
shining in a kind of halo about the
small pale face. II was as If she
had taken ten years and cast them
from her.
The sharp lines appeared again
at the corners of Miss MacDaid's
jaw and she said sharply, Come
along now. Poor Mrs. Gupta has
got to have some rest. She isn't
very strong"
So Lady Esketh threw the
coarse blue uniform about her and
followed Miss MacDaid. still fast
ening the buttons that held it
together as she went.
When Miss MacDaid took her to
the main ward they found Mrs.
Gupta. yellow and exhausted. keep
ing watch. After Miss MaeDaid
had sent her away. she led Lady
Esketh from room to room filled
with dead and dying.
Most of the sick We're typhoid
patients, some had black malaria,
and nearly half of them we're VIC
Tins of the flood and earthquake
with shattered limbs anG fractured
skulls and horrible internal inc
juries. So that she might leave
minute instructions for those who
kept watch while she had snatches
of sleep. Miss MacDaid had num-
hers TO all the patients, crude
numbers marked with pencil on
bits of cardboard or paper pinned
10 the cheap cotton dhotis and
saris.
When they had returned to the
main ward she said, You must
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