ns at St. Georges and
Hamilton were armed and ready. The police with bicycles were ready
to ride all the roads. The half dozen garbage trucks--low-geared
motor trucks--were given over to the soldiers for patrol use. The
only other automobiles on the islands were those few permitted for
the use of the physicians, and there were a few ambulance cars. All
of these were turned over to the troops and the police for patrol.

* * * * *

In the late afternoon an American newspaper hydroplane arrived from
New York. It landed in the waters of Hamilton harbor and prepared to
encircle the islands throughout the night. And the three or four
steamship tenders and the little duty boat which supplied the
government dockyards with daily provisions all had steam up, ready
to patrol the island waters.

Yet it all seemed so futile against this unknown enemy. Ghosts? We
could hardly think of them now as that. Throughout the chaotic day I
recall so many wild things I had heard others say, and had myself
thought. The dead come to life as living wraiths? A ghost could not
materialize and kidnap a girl of flesh and blood. Or could it?
Hysterical speculation! Or were these invaders from another planet?

Whatever their nature, they were enemies. That much we knew.

Night fell upon the crowded turmoil of the little city of Hamilton.
The streets were thronged with excited, frightened people. The
public park was jammed. The hotels and the restaurants were crowded.
Groups of soldiers and police on bicycles with electric torches
fastened to their handlebars were passing at intervals. Overhead the
airplane, flying low, roared past every twenty minutes or so.

The night promised to be clear. The moon would rise, just beyond the
full, a few hours after sunset. It was a warm and breathless night,
with less wind than usual. Most of the people crowding the streets
and the restaurants were in white linen--themselves suggesting the
white and ghostly enemy.

* * * * *

Mr. Dorrance was occupied at the Government House. Jane, Don and I
had supper in a restaurant on Queen Street. It was nearly eight
o'clock and the crowd in the restaurant was thinning out. We were
seated near the street entrance where large plate-glass windows
displayed a variety of bakery products and confections. Jane had her
back to the street, but Don and I were facing it. Crowds were
constantly passing. It was near the