pillows, soap, dishes, and other household items he considered necessary.

By the time he had all this unloaded at the apart- ment house and taken up to the penthouse by the elevator he was hot and hungry and covered with perspiration, so he bathed, put on clean underwear and housedress. He then cooked and ate a late lunch. He spent the rest of the day putting away his "purchases" in his bedroom and kitchen. It was dark when he finished, so he put a filmy nightgown and went to bed.

on

Next morning he heard something scratching around outside the apartment. Opening the door, he was horr- ified to see half a dozen big rats in the entryway. They made a dash toward him and he slammed the door, cat- ching one rat's head between the door and the jam. Terrified, he opened the door a little to try to kick him out.

The other rats seized him and pulled him out of the way, devouring him as they went. He slammed the door again and locked it.

He ran to the windows and looked out. He could see several rats running around in the courtyard, and down below on the streets he could see hordes of them, coming from the north, and entering every house. For two days he cowered in sleepless terror while the rats squealed and fought outside his door. The second night he fell asleep in utter exhaustion. When he woke up next morning it was strangely silent outside.

Cautiously he opened the door. Seeing no rats he went down to the outer door, which he had inadvertant- ly left open, and through which the rats had entered the building. He saw only a few stragglers scurrying southward. He made a thorough search of the building and found none of the rodents, although he saw where they had tried unsuccessfully to get in the other apart- ments. He never saw the rats again; they disappeared as mysteriously as they had come. He later discovered they had eaten everything edible to rats that they could get to, including the decomposing bodies, and then had gone elsewhere in search of food. With the bodies picked clean, the air was cleared and it smell- ed fresh and sweet as he now breathed it.

35.