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Later, with the haulsack safely in the cabin and hot mugs in hand, you turn again to the mystery of the "Four Without Graves."

William listens quietly as you and Claudia take turns explaining what you've found, and listing the possible causes of death for the four people. "Which was it, do you think?" he asks at the end.

"Cowpox," you say.

"I can see why you'd say that," Claudia remembers,"they did seem to fuss about people with pockmarked skin. But I think cowpox is not normally fatal, is it?

"I myself think it was an entirely new disease," she goes on. She picks up the fax from NASA. "It could have come to earth on the meteorite. The test report from Sweden said 'unknown pathogen'. And then there's that scary note from the CDC."

"About quarantine and the communicable disease?" William looks at your worried faces. "Well, I know what the answer is," he says. He gets up and with great drama opens up the haulsack. He pulls out a can of beets. "But first, anyone for lunch?"

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