A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 55: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

52 A QUEER RACE. ing, Qui s’ewcuse s’accuse. His very anxiety to clear him- self from charges which, as yet, nobody had made, showed that he was conscious of having committed a grevious error. ‘© am verv sorry about poor Bailey,” hesaid. ‘‘ Yet, after all, it is no more than was to be expected.” «“T don’t quite see——”’ ‘« Don’t you remember him handling that body on the Lady Jane? It must have been then he caught the fever.” ‘‘But that is two days since. He was thoroughly dis- infected; and if he had caught the fever then it would have shown itself. much sconer. J! have always under- stood that yellow fever is exceedingly rapid in its ac- LO Sa ‘“Generally; but there are exceptions. He must have caught it that time on the Lady Jane; and would have died just the same whether we had taken the ship in tow or not. How else could he have caught it?” “The rats. Bolsover tells me that they actually swarm about the water-casks; and you know what that means.” ‘“Ourse the rats!’ Peyton exclaimed, passionately. ‘Tt’s rats, rats. all day long. I think you have all got rats on the brain. Are you quite sure, now, you did see them coming across the hawsers?” ‘Quite. Besides, if they are not from the Lady Jane, how did they get on board?” ‘“ Anyhow, it’s not the rats that gave poor Bailey tie fever; he got it in the Lidy Jane, and nobody can blame me for that. Who could tell beforehand that she was a fever ship?” | Vo this query I made no answer. I knew what he was driving at. In the event of the fever spreading, he wanted to make out that it had been brought on board by Bailey; that the rats had nothing to do with it. IJ felt annoyed that he should thus try to wriggle out of the re- sponsibility he had incurred by taking the Lady Jane in tow, and only the fact of my being his gnest: prevented me from saying so. If he had been less obstinate, he would have cast her off at once, for besides taking us ont of our course, she was greatly impeding our progress; and with fever on board our own vessel, and a fever ship in Eomichbooks.com