armored with court-plaster and armed with
hypodermic syringes.

Metcalf had resigned as ensign to take up the study and practice of
medicine, but at the beginning of the war scare had returned to his
first love, relinquishing a lucrative practice as eye-specialist to
tender his services to the Government. And the Government had responded
by ranking him with his class as junior lieutenant, and giving him the
aforesaid command, which he was glad to be released from. But his
classmates and brother officers had not responded so promptly with
their welcome, and Metcalf found himself combating a naval etiquette
that was nearly as intolerant of him as of other appointees from civil
life. It embittered him a little, but he pulled through; for he was a
likable young fellow, with a cheery face and pleasant voice, and even
the most hide-bound product of Annapolis could not long resist his
personality. So he was not entirely barred out of official gossip and
speculations, and soon had an opportunity to question some convalescents
sent home from Honolulu. All told the same story and described the same
symptoms, but one added an extra one. An itching and burning of the face
had accompanied the attack, such as is produced by sunburn.

"And where were you that night when it came?" asked Metcalf, eagerly.

"On the bridge with the captain and watch-officers. It was all hands
that night. We had made out a curious light to the north'ard, and were
trying to find out what it was."

"What kind of a light?"

"Well, it was rather faint, and seemed to be about a mile away.
Sometimes it looked red, then green, or yellow, or blue."

"And then it disappeared?"

"Yes, and though we steamed toward it with all the searchlights at work,
we never found where it came from."

"What form did it take--a beam or a glow?"

"It wasn't a glow--radiation--and it didn't seem to be a beam. It was an
occasional flash, and in this sense was like a radiation--that is, like
the spokes of a wheel, each spoke with its own color. But that was at
the beginning. In three hours none of us could have distinguished
colors."

Metcalf soon had an opportunity to question others. The first batch of
invalid officers arrived from Manila, and these, on being pressed,
admitted that they had seen colored lights at the beginning of the
night. These, Metcalf remarked, were watch-officers, whose business was
to look for strange lights and investigate them. But one of them add