Чума
Part III
Whentheambulanceshadcompletedtheirjourney,thestretcherswerebroughtinprocessionandthenaked,slightlytwistedcorpseswereallowedtosliptothebottom,moreorlessside-by-side.Afterthat,theywerecoveredwithquicklime,thenearth,butonlyuptoacertainheight,inordertoleaveroomformoreoccupantstocome.Thefollowingday,therelativeswereinvitedtosignaregister—whichjustshowedthedifferencethattheremaybebetweenmenand,forexample,dogs:youcankeepcheckofhumanbeings.
Theseoperationsneededstaffandmanpowerwasalwaysonthevergeofrunningout.Manyofthemalenursesandthegravediggers,whowereatfirstofficial,thencasual,diedoftheplague.Whateverprecautionsweretaken,onedayinfectionoccurred.Though,whenyouthinkaboutit,themostsurprisingthingwasthattherewasneverashortageofmentodothejob,foraslongastheepidemiclasted.ThecriticalperiodoccurredshortlybeforetheplaguereacheditspeakandthenDrRieux’sfearswerewellfounded.Therewerenotenoughpeopleeitherforsupervisionorforwhathecalled"heavywork".Butfromthetimewhentheplaguereallytookholdofthetown,itsveryimmoderationhadonequiteconvenientoutcome,becauseitdisruptedthewholeofeconomiclifeandsocreatedquitealargenumberofunemployed.Inmostcases,theydidnotsupplysupervisors,butwhenitcametothedirtywork,recruitmentbecamemucheasierasaresult.
