ne
who thinks he may be looking his last upon some loved face. Men had
begun to grow used to the thought that when they left their homes
in the morning they might return to them no more, or that they
might return to find that one or more of their dear ones had been
struck down and carried off in the course of a few hours. So
terrible was the malignity of the disease, that often death
supervened after a few hours, although others would linger--often
in terrible suffering--for many days before death (or much more
rarely, recovery) relieved them of their pain. This good man knew
that if he let the lads go, he might never see them again. He or
they might be victims before they met, and might see each other's
face no more upon earth.

Yet he did not oppose the boys' plan. He knew how bad for them was
this shut-up life, and how the very sense of fret and compulsory
inactivity might predispose them to the contagion. If they could
once get beyond the limits of the city, they might be far safer
than they could be here. It would be a relief to have them gone--to
think of them as living in safety in the fresh air of the country.
Moreover, it pleased him to think of sending a message of loving
assurance to his favourite sister, who dwelt in the open country
beyond the hamlet of Islington. He felt assured that if she still
lived she would have a warm welcome for his boys; and if the lads
were well provided with money and wholesome food, they had wits
enough to take care of themselves for a while, until they had found
some asylum. In all the surrounding villages, as he well knew, were
only too many empty houses and cottages. He knew that there was
risk; but there was risk everywhere, and he felt sympathy with the
lads for their eager desire to get free of their prison.

The mother felt more fear, but she never interfered with the
decisions of her husband. Her tears fell as she packed up in very
small compass a few articles of clothing and some provisions for
the lads. Their father furnished them with money, the bulk of which
was sewn up in their clothing, and with those health passes which
were so needful for those leaving the infected city.

The summer's night was really the best time in which to commence a
journey. The heat of the streets by day was intolerable, the danger
of encountering infected persons was greater, whilst although it
was at night that the dead carts went about, these could be easily
avoided, as the warning