"The heat of the afternoon lay heavy on the street, and he saw no one. 'Bad as a Mexican town,' he thought, 'everyone taking a siesta.' Then suddenly he realized that he said it as a man whistles to keep up his courage. He came to the business center, stopped the car by the curb, and got out. There was nobody."
Part 1, Chapter 1, Page 11

"It might have emerged from some animal reservoir of disease; it might be caused by some new microorganism, most likely a virus, produced by mutation; it might be an escape, possibly even a vindictive release, from some laboratory of biological warfare. The last was apparently the popular idea. The disease was assumed to be airborne, possibly upon particles of dust. A curious feature was that the isolation of the individual seemed to be of no avail."
Part 1, Chapter 1, Page 14

"I supposed,'...