Chapter Twenty-Five
The next day was steamy. Heat radiated from the streets and the mules walked slowly, pulling the drays with grunts as their heads hung low in the baking air of early evening. Alfred had chosen to take the trolley over his bicycle after Dr. Cline had warned of a heat wave making its way across the gulf. Men held their jackets over their arms with rolled up sleeves and women fanned themselves desperately, longing for the occasional breeze. Something that continued to amaze Alfred was how vulnerable the island was to sudden changes. If the waters stalled the winds, it became little more than a loaf of bread stuck in the oven. It swelled until it was bloated and could do little more than bake.
It was a sweltering eighty-six degrees. Joseph had explained how the island’s c
