Chapter 26

James had thought, "I will just close my eyes and rest them for a second," as he tilted the chair back, to prop it against the wall. Stepping out the back door of the barn for a breath of fresh air to see the ladder back chair just sitting there begging for some company.

The warm sun felt good on my face and I wandered just how long it had really been since I had seen daylight as I drifted off. I figured it had been 3 days of hard work. All of the patients had the same symptoms but it seemed that they finally had it under control. So far, of the 17 people who had been there when he arrived, no new ones had been brought in and only 4 of the originals patients had passed. The sorrow being that all 4 had been under the age of 12 and 2 from the same family. The bright side of it was that everyone seemed to be getting better, the fevers had broken and now most of the complaints were just sore, achy bodies and really bad headaches. Several had already been given a clean bill of health and sent home for more bed rest and to be taken care of by their family.

The next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by Maisy. "Doc, git up quick and git in here," she said in a hurry. I came to as my chair fell forward, dazed and confused, I shook my head and got up to follow her back in to the barn. I wondered what in the world could be wrong now. As my eyes re-adjusted to the darkness from the outside sun, I saw Thomas over by the main door. I smiled and hurried over to him. Thomas met me halfway, twisting his hat in his hands. "You got to get home right now Doc, you got to get home fast," Thomas said. "Why?" I asked, wondering what could possibly be wrong. "We got this awful sickness at the farm, the baby boy, Miz Gabby and my momma have taken real sick and we need you right now!" I had never felt such raw terror in my life. "Let me get my bag and I will meet you out front." I turned to Maisy, but before I could speak she said, " Go home, Doc, all is well here and we can handle the rest. Get home and take care of your family." She said to Thomas, "Go get his horse saddled. It's in the pen to the side of the barn, he will be down in a minute." She gathered her skirts up in her hand and ran off to help me pack.

I met Thomas outside the barn, threw my bag on the horse and we were out of there in a cloud of dust. Maisy shielded her eyes to watch them as far as she could see then bowed her head to ask God to guide the Doc and keep his family safe. She re-pinned her hair as she headed back towards the barn, her mind already working on how she could help.

Thomas and I burst through the clearing at the Mountain Top settlement and headed straight out of town. I heard a sharp whistle and pulled my horse up to a stop. The sheriff was running his way with a look of concern on his face, "What is it Doc?" he asked, "More outbreaks?" I told him about my family, the sheriff told me to get home and to let him know if there was anything they needed. The sheriff watched as Thomas and I rode off down the mountain towards home.