An officer in uniform came from the little eating-house near by and approached the party.
"Are there any passengers for the coast here?" he asked.
"I am going to Charleston," the young lady said.
"Where are you from, miss?" Then, seeing her surprise, he continued: "You must excuse the question but I am a quarantine officer and Charleston has quarantined against all points that have been exposed to yellow fever."
"That, then, does not include me," she said, confidently. "I am from Montgomery, where there is no yellow fever, and a strict quarantine."
"Have you a health certificate?"
"A what?"
"A ticket from any of the authorities or physicians in Montgomery."
"No, sir; I am Miss Kitty Blair, and going to visit friends in Charleston."
The officer looked embarrassed. The health-certificate regulation and inland quarantine were new and forced him frequently into unpleasant positions.