elicate bluish
colour. The matter is being investigated. In the meanwhile it has been
noticed, both in Ludlow and Cleobury-Mortimer, and also in Knighton,
that the peculiar bluish tint has appeared amongst the inhabitants.
Our correspondent states that it is most marked in the conjunctivae, or
whites of the eyes. There must undoubtedly be some connection between
this phenomenon and the condition of the trout in the Elan reservoirs,
as all the above-mentioned towns lie close to, and receive water from,
the great aqueduct. The most remarkable thing, however, is that the
bluish discolouration does not seem to be accompanied by any symptoms
of illness in those whom it has affected. No sickness or fever has
been observed. It is perhaps nothing more than a curious coincidence
that the abrupt cessation of the measles epidemic in Ludlow and
Cleobury-Mortimer, reported in yesterday's issue, should have occurred
simultaneously with the appearance of bluish discolouration among the
inhabitants."

On the same evening, I was returning from the hospital and saw the
following words on a poster:--

"Blue Disease in Birmingham."

I bought a paper and scanned the columns rapidly. In the stop-press news
I read:--

"The Blue Disease has appeared in Birmingham. Cases are reported all
over the city. The Public Health Department are considering what
measures should be adopted. The disease seems to be unaccompanied by any
dangerous symptoms."

I stood stock-still in the middle of the pavement. A steady stream of
people hurrying from business thronged past me. A newspaper boy was
shouting something down the street, and as he drew nearer, I heard his
hoarse voice bawling out:--

"Blue Disease in Birmingham."

He passed close to me, still bawling, and his voice died away in the
distance. Men jostled me and glanced at me angrily.... But I was lost in
a dream. The paper dropped from my fingers. In my mind's eye I saw the
Sarakoff-Harden bacillus in Birmingham, teeming in every water-pipe in
countless billions, swarming in the carafes on dining-room tables, and
in every ewer and finger-basin, infecting everything it came in contact
with. And the vision of Birmingham and the whole stretch of country up
to the Elan watershed passed before me, stained with a vivid blue.

CHAPTER IX

THE MAN FROM BIRMINGHAM

The following day while walking to the hospital, I noticed a group of
people down a side street, apparently looking intently