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She observed, "That many people don’t just vanish into thin air"

"Nor did these," he agreed "They’ve been glins are" He retreated to his original description, finding none other that suited the gravity of the situation "Terrible They wander, driven by the weather or whatever boundaries they encounter, bouncing from place to place, andandit is like a herd of starving goats, everywhere they go! They leave nothing behind--they consume all food, all plants and crops, all animalsand possiblyall the people they asped for dramented in her hand She let its crumbs fall to the plate, and left them unattended

"Yes, people! The feho have escaped tell such stories Thesoldiers and settlers have taken on an awful appearance, thin and hungry Their skin has turned gray, and they no longer speak except to groan or screa, or their bodies; and sons of violent injuries But these woundedtheh they look like they are dead Now, tell me, Nurse Lynch, do you know of any poison or illness that can cause such a thing?"

Her instinct was to blurt, Yes! but she gave it half a minute of measured consideration while she nibbled one of the intact biscuits After all, Ranger Korman hadn’t taken her seriously, and she didn’t know these men half so well Finally, she said, "Well, I’ve known of oods and the like, froo a bit senseless But this sounds to "

Inspector Galeano asked, "Sap-​poisoning?" and Captain MacGruder looked like he was next in line with questions

"There’s this drug that the boys use out on the front Gotten real popular in the last three or four years When the addicts came into my old hospital, we called ’em ‘wheezers’ because they breathed all funny And those fellas who use too o crazy I never saw any as crazy as what you’re talking about, but I’ve seen close" Memphis The Salvation Army Irvin, who bites

Captain MacGruder said, "I’ve seen a few sap-​heads in ers on the edge of the table "They as, you know"

"I didn’t know"

"Nasty yellow stuff They get it from somewhere out west--I’ot volcanoes That’s all I know They bring it in by dirigible Pirates run the whole operation, I think Can’t think of anyone else nutty enough to tangle with it"

The inspectors sat upright with a snap "Really?" said Inspector Galeano "You must tell us more! Señora Lynch, you said you’d seen it make men loco?"

She hesitated, but they looked at her with such an eager air of expectation that she had to say so way from West Texas And Mexico, for that matter"

"That’s fine," Inspector Portilla insisted "Go on, por favor"

Mercy spoke not a word of Spanish, but she knew a "please" when she heard it, so she told them the truth "There was a mission, a place for veterans there And upstairs were men who’d been separated out from the rest They werethey were like you said" She nodded at Inspector Galeano "Thin, and their skin wasn’t the right color, and they were starting to look likelike corpses" The rest came out in a burst "And one of the to lash out athim, butno" She shook her head side to side with fervor "He wasn’t trying to eatto chew on your flesh? Señora," Inspector Portilla pleaded Then he turned to Captain MacGruder "You said this was ibles?"

"That’s ," he replied

"Then perhaps we can solve two mysteries at once!" the inspector exclaiistered dirigible crashed out in West Texas, right around the same time--and the same place--that our forces first disappeared We believe it originated on the northwest coast, but we can’t be certain"

Mercy gasped "You don’t think--"

He went on, "I don’t knohat to think But what if this airship was carrying sap?"

The captain presented another possibility "Or a load of gas to be processed into sap"

Everyone fell silent, astonished by the prospect of it--and, frankly, not believing it Mercy said slowly, "Surelysurely if it’s just gas, it would justgo away? Rise up into the air? Or reed "Surely it wouldn’t be concentrated enough totocontahed "You are probably right But still, it is so to think about," he told them Then he excused himself from the table, and his fellow inspector left as well

Left alone with the Union ine it’s right Can you? You’ve been on the fronts, haven’t you? Have you seen the men who lie around and look like corpses?"