The nurse had gone; but two orderlies came up.
"We must bury him," one of them said in the Russian of Moscow.
As Ian looked up they noticed his eyes were dimmed with tears unshed.
"Is there a Catholic priest about?"
The men looked at one another.
"In the town perhaps--not here."
"I'll bring one."
"We cannot wait till you go so far. We have strict orders to bury each poor victim at once. What will you? The infection is deadly and we are working day and night."
"I'll be back before you close the coffin."
"Coffin! There are none left."