Show W I t r I. I I. I xo q r i Jl i 1 JACK JA KI f v 0 tf k I t tan w w rouses s t ill i l We talked through the air Ir In t those those days da thousands and ud thousands lot t And miles i And the word came cam of a s ai strange nee disease that had broken out cut la an New NewYork York There were seventeen J millions of ot people Urine living then In that i w noblest city of America Amerle Nobody r thought anything about bout the new news It I F w was wu only oily thine There bad I a J been only afew a few tew deaths death It seemed I it t pouch th that t the they ba bad died very quick 11 r and aad that one one of cf lest first signs 1111 of J n the the disease Wal was the turning red of I Hh he facend ace and all the bod body Within Ii I twenty four h hours ur cam came the th report of I the tint first cue case In Chicago And on th the t same same day day It w. w wu was was' t made maele public that c London the greatest city in the world next neit to Chicago had bad been bee secretly secrecy L Y the plague for lor two weeks week and ud censoring the n. n news newa dispatches that at t. t l U 1 not Dot permitting n the word to go 0 forth if ito the rest of the he world that at Jond London j iad ad the plague I I V J It It looked but We ere In California Cali CaI fornia like lite everywhere else Were not Dot ti alarmed We were sure lure that the bacteriologists a d find Clod a way to i 1 overcome this new germ germ lust just as the they ther tad ad overcome other germs Berm In to the past o 1 a But trouble waa wee the the astonishing t J quickness with which this germ lerm destroyed de do- 1 strayed human humai beings and the tact t i that that It Inevitably killed any ant human body hodr It entered No one ever f Wed ered There was war the old Asiatic Astaire r cholera when you might eat dinner r fault a s well man la tn the evening and the next Dut morning U if you ou got up early 1 s enough yon yon ou would see see lee hIm being beIne hauled h by your window In fn the death cart Icart But this new Dew plague was Wal quicker quick 4 r er r than that that much much quicker From the moment of the tb first signs of 01 It a aD man D would be dead In an hour Some Som lasted veral hours hour lolan Many died within ten or fifteen minutes of 01 the appearance appearance- of the tint first signs f The heart began to beat faster laster and end the heat of the body to Increase Then came the scarlet rash spreadIng spread spread- fug Ing like wildfire over the face and andy m body Most Moet persons never noticed ln y E the Increase in ID heat beat and ud heartbeat heartbeat heart heart- I beat and ud the tint Scat the they knew was W when the scarlet rash cam out I. I Usually they bad lad convulsions it t the time of or the appearance of the th 1 rUb h. h But j lt th these convulsions did not last Jilt long lone and ud were Iere not very err severe nere It If one ale lived a through uch them be he became perfectly perfecta quiet and ud only did he be feel a. a numbness swiftly creeping up his bis body from the J feet teet The heels heel became numb first Bret Lk then the legs and hips and when the Via t numbness reached ai u high as a. his hl heart hear he died They Ther did not rave rava or Iee sleep Their minds mind always remained cool and ud J calm up to the moment moment their hearts heart a numbed and Pd stopped topped And another A y strange thing was waa the th rapidity of cf de des composition No sooner was u a person f dead than thu the body ee seemed ed to fall to i 1 pieces to S fly aT part apart to mils melt way away wI even gas j las you looked at It it That ws one CIne of the reasons the plague spread pd so 0 rapIdly rapIdly rapidly rap rap- Idly All the billions of germs germ in a corpse were so 0 immediately rel released And it was wu because of all this that the bacteriologists had so 0 little chance In fighting the germs The They were killed in their laboratories even as the they studied the of germs the Scarlet carlet Death h The They were heroes Aa A fast u as they ther perished other othero ate stepped lOped forth and took their places It was war In London London Lon Lon- don that th fir j first t Isolated It The news nw w was wad telegraphed r ed everywhere Trask was the be nam nam of ot the man loan who succeeded In this hll but but but within thirty hours houn be he war w was dead Then came the struggle Ip In all the laboratories to find dud something that hat would would kill the plague germs h AD drugs failed You Tod see nee tin U. problem was to get a drug or sera leru serum a. a that would kill till the germ In lu the body and ud not flot ot kill 0 the body The They tried to 10 fight ht It with th oth other germs germ to put Into ih the body Of Ot J. J a sick siok nan germs term that were the tb the pia plague e germs And Abd you cant can't see e these thele Ie germ things thIne Oraner Hare Lip and ud here you OU gabble gabble cabbIe gabble about them as u If tf they was wa anything when they there they're re nothing at stall aU all Anything you can cant can't t Ie see Int that that's s what Fighting Fight t tug ing things th that t aint with things thing that aln aInt tl They must mutt have been all too fools loola L In them da days That That's why they ther croaked I I aint sint coin gain to believe t tsuch la In n such uch rot I tell you that promptly began beean to wee weep p while Edw Edwil holl hotly took up his hll defense e Look b hire here re Ha Hare Lip you believe bellve in lots lot of things you can cant can't t see ee Lip Hare shook his hie head You haters believe I in dead men walkin about tou YOU never seen n one dead m man an walk about I J tell you I see lee em em last Jut winter Inter when I was 11 wolf hunting with dad dad Well you 1011 alwa always s spit when you yov 0 cress eret running water water Edwin chat chal le legged a to keep p off bad luct luck w was wu u Lip Harelips s defense You Tou believe in bad luck lucU Sure Sure An An you aln aint t never seen leen bad luck concluded triumphantly Yon Tou Youre re just u as bad as II Cramer Oraner and nd his hI germs You believe In what you dont don't t see ee do 00 on Granger Lip Hare crushed by this me phy 4 cal eal defeat deleat remained silent and the of old d man went on Often and ud often otten though thong p this narrative must not be clogged cloned b by br bythe py y the details detail was 0 rimer's Oraner tale Inter Inte Interrupted r while the boys boy squabbled squabble d 4 mon among themselves Also Allo among amone the themselves them m selves elv they the kept up a constant contant to low w e voiced explanation and aDd conjecture uthe as u they the they strove trove to follow the old man Into lob p hta hr unknown and ud vanished world The me Scarlet carlet Death broke out In San SaD Francisco The Th feet Ant death came on a By Dy Thursday the y were dying na like files di In is Oakland anSan an anSan d San Francisco They Thel died everywhere ere In In their beds bed at their work along the street treet It was war on j that I 1 saw my Lot first death death totes Miss Co Cot Col Colbran I bran bru one ot of my at students sitting bitting rig ii there before m my eyes ea In my lecture r I noticed her face fee while I 1 Iwu w was u talking It It hid had suddenly turned Cc lean Lr let I I 1 ceased speaking and could out outlook y look at her for the first fear tar of th tb e plague war waa already on 00 all of us u. and w WI knew bew that U it had come coma The Tile youn g women screamed screamed and and ran out cut of th till room So did the the young men ru run ou out t all ll but two Miss MIa Ui Collbran Collbran's s I lon wet f err verr mild mUd and aad lasted le less Ie re tha a J t tin y mn fetched etched her lIer a glut glass of ot wear water k She a. drank dran only a lJ little I. I c of It t. t sod and cried cd outs out I ll J AH AD Seri has hu n them 4 of i After a minute she she b said ald 1 I have han BO no teet feet I Im I am unaware that I have any DJ feet And my knees are cold I I. I Dan can scarcely feel that I have lave Ime knees knees' She hat on the i floor a bundle bunelle bundle of ot of notebooks under her II head And WI we could do noth nothing The he coldness and nd the he numbness up crept up put past her hips PI PIto to 0 her ber heart and when It reached her bet heart she ahe was war dead In fifteen J min ml fD pas utes by br the clock clock I I she t she was wu dead there in my 18 my own classroom dead And she she Ih was Wu wp's a very beautiful strong healthy young woman And ADd I from rom the first ant sign eign of ot the plague pIque to her lIer death death only oly fifteen Meen minutes leI elapsed I That win wm show how you how swift was the Scarlet Death d j I Yet in those hOH few minutes minute II It If-e- If O. O with the dying woman dying woman la In ay my classroom the alarm had spread pread over the university and Dd the students student by he the gU thousands lecture e all rooms of them sod and d had laboratories t deserted When I r emerged on my wa mt-wa way to make mate I report to the tb president of the faculty I 1 found the university deserted Across Aero the th campus were several rat straggles stragglers hurrying for their homes henne Two of them were running President Hoag I r found in ID h his a of or office floe fice alone Verr iery old and rr gray cra with a multitude of wrinkles in his hi face that I had bad never seen seen leen before At th the sight of me me he be pulled himself to to his bis feet and tottered wa away to the tile Inner office omee banging the door door- after Mm him and locking it You Yon see he Ie knew I bad had been exposed and he lie was wa afraid He shouted to me m. through the door to togo too go 10 o away aWl I shall never forget my feelIngs feel feel- Inc fags as a. I walked waited down the th silent corridors cor eor- and out across that deserted campus I was WAIl not afraid I had been exposed sed and I looked upon myself as u already tred dead It was wu net nt that but a afe fe feeling of awful depression that Impressed impressed Im im- pressed me Everything Everything- bad had stopped topped It It was war like Ute the end of the th world world to tome me my me-my my world I had bad been born within with in sight and nd sound of the university It had been my predestined career My father had bad been a a professor r there before me end and his ilia father before belore him For a century and ud a halt half had this on ans varsity like Ute a splendid machine been heeD running steadily on And now In fn an n instant It had stopped It was like lite seeing elne the sacred flame dame die down on OD some lome thrice sacred acred altar I was war shocked hocked unutterably stocked When I arrived home my mr housekeeper housekeeper house house- keeper screamed as a. I entered and ud fled led away awa And Anel when I rang rane I found the housemaid had bad likewise fled T In Investigated laves In the kitchen I found the cook on OD the point of 01 of departure But lint she he screamed too and nd In ber her baste bute dropped a suitcase of her peri l al belongings be bee longings and ud ran ru out ont of or the house boue and nd across dOI the grounds IUD stin screaming I c. c can Dear her scream to this da day You Yon see ee we we did not act In this wa way when ordinary us u. We were wen alwa always calm over such ucla things and uel sent lent tar for the doctors docton and u and purses who knew bew just what to todo do But lint this was war different It struck so 10 suddenly an and d killed so 0 swiftly Del and never missed a stroke When Whoa the scarlet rash ruh a ap appeared J pared on CD on a persons person's face lac ace that at person perlOU was marked 4 by d. d dessa There There- was never lIer a known bon case can of cf a recovery recoVer I I wae wu alone In my mr big bla house ou A As AIt I have told Cold you yon often before In fn thus those da dills days we could talk with Ith one another r over cr the th wires 1 or cr through the air Ir Tb The telephone b bell ll rang ranc and I found m my mr y brother brether talking caking to me ma He told m me e ear that he be w. w was war not cumin coming home for fear teas ar or of catching the plague from me ne an and d that he had taken out two to sisters lItera to stop atop at Professor Bacons Bacon home borne Hi li He e advised me ine to remain where I 1 was sea a nand and waft wait to find out whether or not 1 I had bad caught the plague pIque To all alJ of this I agreed staying In my house and for tor the first time in m my y life lite attempting to cook Book And th the e plague did not come out on me D By means meu of ot the telephone I could talk tall with whomsoever I pleased and end get pt the annew n. n news new Abo 1110 there were were the w. w warehouses ware houses I Murder and robbery and drunkenness were at every Irr door so eo that I Could know what was hat ar happening with the rest ret of the world CHAPTER III The Survival of or the Fittest New York ell city and nd Chicago were In III chaos chao And whit what happened wf wT wi t them was war happening in fa all large farts cities A third of the New York police were dead deed Their chief was war also dead likewise like Ilk wise wI the mayor All taw law and order had ceased The bod bodies I. I were lying In la the streets arena unbarred All AU railroads railroad and ud vessels carrying food and such things into the great creat elt city had hac ceased running run ruD- usage ning land nd mobs mob of f the hungry poor peon were pillaging the tore stares and ware wa ware warehouse houses house Harder rd aad Ud robbery std at aai drunkenness were seere everywhere A Al- Al ready the people had bad fled Id from the Ut city by millions at at first the rich la their private motor tin tars and nd dirigibles ana then the great giant mats mate of 01 t the tile population pope POP lation on foot carry tag the pI plague with thi starving and ut pillaging i tile the tanners farmers and i all n th the 01 towns town on Oil the tile way The Tb man mu who sent this news the wireless operator was war atone alone with his hl Instruments on oil the to top Of ot a rutty lofty build build- Ing mt The J. people remaining rema In to the city he he euma estimated them at several at-several several hundred hun bun dyed dred 1 mad from fear flu and abc oan o all sides ildea of el him Dim great fires were raging naIDa He H was wat a hero lIero that i 1 man who staid by his III PO post Dolt an ea D' D obscure newspaper men man most moet likely Tor JW W twenty four hoars houri he hs said laid no transatlantic airships airship had Dad arrived oc and BO more messages mp wn were cumin coming from d J aja state e ouel that that ta a I tr m menage A from B Berlin Itai In tn O Germany air Ger I many many announced Announced that Hoffmeyer a 1 bacteriologist of the had bad discovered red serum rum for forthe the plague That was the last word rd to this day da that we sea of America ever received from Europe If Ifs Hoffmeyer dleo the t serum it was too late or 01 otherwise long Jong ere this explores explorers from rom Europe would have hv come coma looking for us n n l. We eI We can only conclude that what hat America happened bappe In a Europe pe and that at tits tile best belt some s several everal score leore ml may ha haves have survived the Scarlet Death on that whole continent For one da day longer the dispatches continued to come com York Then they ther too ceased The man who had sent ent them them- perched lofty building had either died of h. the plague or been bun consumed ed In la u. u Ue- Ue s great creat J con COD conflagration b he b. b had described as ai silos raging around round And wha what had i In in n New York had Dad been duplicated in all the other cities It rn war the same am In San Su Francisco and nd Oakland and Berkeley By 01 Thursday the people were dying o rapidly that their corset corpses could couk I not net be bandied and ud |