“Oh, isn’t it horrible!” she almost shrieked. “Those boys had malignant scarlet fever! That one was dying the girl held up, he was choking awfully, and at nine o’clock the other one died. It’s all in the morning’s paper. I think they hid it away. Miss Vincent picked it up in the library. Oh, what can we do?”
“You can stop screaming and get up.” Phillipa fairly dragged her up and shook her violently. “Hush! hush!” she commanded. “You’ll have the whole faculty in here, and we’ll be bundled out bag and baggage. Have a little regard for Zay and me if you have none for yourself.”
Phillipa drew up the willow rocker and pushed Louie in it. “Don’t have hysterics if that is what you’re aiming at or I’ll douse you with cold water until you’re half drowned.”
Louie was sobbing now. “I can’t help it, and think of the dreadful risk we ran! That woman ought to be sent to prison.”
“That woman was going on with her business, earning her living. We were the fools! How did they know it was scarlet fever?”
“Well, she thought it was measles and was doctoring them, but one of them grew so much worse she sent for Dr. Lewis and he was so busy he didn’t get there until five, just as the boy died, and the other one hadn’t seemed so bad, but he died at nine, and the youngest girl has the fever. Dr. Lewis sent for the undertaker right away and they put something on the bodies and sealed up the coffin and they were to be buried this morning and the clothes to be burned and the house fumigated. Oh, isn’t it horrible! The woman ought to go to prison.”
“After losing her two children?”
“Well, to give us all scarlet fever, malignant scarlet fever?” with emphasis.
Phillipa was quivering in every nerve. But she must control Louie.
“Well, we shouldn’t have gone there. I think she ought not have let us in but just said she couldn’t admit customers. Now, what are you going to do?”