n to the necessity of sleeping in such a place and in
circumstances of such hardship and privation. I was just discussing with
Dr. Hubbell the possibility of getting the United States Signal Corps
man in the telegraph office to signal our steamer for a boat, regardless
of the high surf, when the long white figure on the floor rose, with an
unmistakably masculine grunt, and remarked, with a slight English
accent, that he did not think there was any possibility of getting off
to a ship in a small boat, inasmuch as he had been trying for
twenty-four hours to get on board of his own vessel and had not
succeeded yet. The figure proved to be that of Lord Alfred Paget, naval
observer for the British government, and what I had taken in the
darkness for the white gown of a woman was his white-duck uniform. After
discussing the situation for a few moments, and declaring discontentedly
that our engineer corps had had time enough to build six piers and yet
had not finished one, he lay down on the floor again, without blanket,
pillow, or overcoat, rested his head on the sill of the disused door,
and apparently went to sleep, while I debated in my mind the question
whether I had better sleep with him on the floor of the piazza, and take
the chance of getting yellow fever from a possibly infected building, or
lie out on the ground, where I might be stepped on by prowling Cuban
refugees, or run over by a mule-team coming in from the front. I finally
decided that sleeping accommodations which were good enough for Lord
Alfred were good enough for me, and, just as the moon was rising over
the high, rocky rampart east of the village, I rolled myself up in my
blanket and lay down on the floor against the piazza rail. Dr. Hubbell
slept on the counter of the money-order division of the post-office,
while Dr. Egan, without blanket or pillow, stretched himself out on the
dirty planks below.

We were all up at daybreak, and making my toilet by tightening my belt
and putting on my mud-spattered pith helmet, I went down to the water's
edge to try to find some means of communicating with the ship. During my
absence at the front there had evidently been strong winds and heavy
seas, for the strip of beach was covered with the wrecks of lighters
which had been smashed while trying to land supplies in the surf, and a
large steam lighter-launch, loaded with twenty tons or more of hard
bread, beans, etc., was lying on the bottom, half submerged, about fif