Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson Page A

turning pale gold. Mockingbirds were singing. Mother slept, her skin the color of an old weathered barn. At least she was alive.
    "Your grandfather and I have found help," Eliza whispered. "Dr. Kerr. He's educated, from Scotland."
    Dr. Kerr nodded to me. He was a small man wearing a black coat and carrying a small medical case. He set the case on the floor and opened Mother's eyelids with his fingers. She slept on.
    "Where's Grandfather?" I asked.
    "Waiting downstairs," Eliza said.
    "How was she in the night?" Dr. Kerr asked as he started his examination.
    "I did everything Mr. Rowley instructed. I bathed her and gave her tea. I tried to keep the bedclothes clean, but . . . we'll wash today. She finally slept after midnight. Do you think she looks better? She feels a little cooler to me. Mr. Rowley said it was just an autumnal fever, nothing serious."
    Eliza pulled me close to her. "Shhh," she said gently.
    Dr. Kerr rose off the bed. "Damned fool," he growled.
    "Excuse me?" I said.
    "Rowley, the imposter. Autumnal fever indeed. Your mother has yellow fever. There's no doubt at all."
    Yellow fever.
    My mouth moved, but I could not breathe. It made no sense. Mother wouldn't allow it. She had given birth to me in the morning and cooked supper for ten that night. She survived the British occupation while my father fought with Washington's troops. Mother would beat back illness with a broom.
    A loud moan interrupted my thoughts. Dr. Kerr laid his fingers on Mother's wrist.
    "Her pulse is fast and strong," he said. "This is the crisis. She must be bled."
    Dear God. "Won't that weaken her more?" I asked.
    "Bunkum," Dr. Kerr said angrily. "Dr. Rush has
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    proven that bleeding is the only way to save a patient this close to the grave."
    "But she could mend yet," Eliza said.
    Dr. Kerr took a small lancet from his bag. It glinted in the sunlight. He handed me a basin and told Eliza to hold Mother's shoulders. I felt faint.
    "Her pulse is full, quick, and tense," he said, pushing up Mother's sleeve. "Hold the basin right against her arm. The pestilence boils within her blood and must be drained."
    I flinched as the lancet flashed and blood from Mother's arm poured into the basin. Dr. Kerr handed me a second basin when the first was full. My stomach turned over, but I clenched my jaw and stood firm.
    "There," he said finally. He bandaged the cut on her arm and rolled down her sleeve. Mother lay still and silent, but she was breathing. "That was ten ounces of blood. I'll come back tomorrow to take another ten. She needs to purge the disease still in her stomach and bowels. She'll need ten grains of jalap and ten grains of calomel. It will be dirty work to care for her, but it should clean her system efficiently."
    "But she's so pale," I said. "Can't the medicines wait a day or so?"
    Mother finally roused. She blinked her eyes and pointed at me. "Get her out!" she whispered. "Out!" A cough choked off the rest of her words.
    Doctor Kerr and Eliza struggled to calm her.
    "Go wait in the kitchen, Mattie," Eliza said. "She
    won't settle until you are gone. She doesn't want you here. She's afraid you'll get sick."
    Dr. Kerr took me by the arm before I could protest. He led me down the stairs like a lamb on a string.
    "She doesn't want you to see the worst. You can help down here. I'm sure Eliza would appreciate a cup of tea. Lucille is a strong woman. With God's mercy she will survive this peril."
    Grandfather was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs.
    Dr. Kerr got right to the point. "Yellow fever, William. There's no doubt. I advise you send Matilda out of the city at once."
    "What?" I asked.
    Grandfather sat heavily in a kitchen chair. "Lucille has been wanting her out of town."
    "No!" I stamped my foot on the floor. "You can't send me away! I need to be here-I need to help! You can't send me away."
    Dr. Kerr frowned. "I understand, Matilda. These are difficult days for us all. Sensible people have turned mad overnight. They're rinsing