“Rose!” Daniel called out, trying to keep his voice calm. “Please prepare more ice bags and bring them to me as quickly as you can.”
“Yes, Dr. Grant,” Rose said and frowned as she turned quickly to do Daniel’s bidding.
Daniel wondered how long Alistair would be; he had been gone too long and he should have returned by now. Knowing Alistair, Daniel thought he most likely entertained the mayor rather than inform him of the risky situation they now faced.
He wondered about Ruth’s progress in preparing the rooms for additional beds. He would ask her for an update the next time he saw her.
Rose returned promptly and handed two ice bags to Daniel who carefully placed them on both sides of Richard’s neck. The grayish coating at the back of Richard’s throat showed no signs of thinning or detaching yet. He prayed the ice bags would help the swelling go down; if not, the idea of intubation would become a serious consideration.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ruth was thankful when Rose returned from the ward, as she had started to sort through the last room which was full of books and documents. Once a room had been cleared, she and Rose moved some items for storage upstairs and others were stored in the laundry storage room or nurse’s station. Then they would clean and sterilize the newly empty rooms thoroughly—three times over.
Many of the books were leatherbound and some were old medical textbooks. She wondered if they were part of a library. It was a pity that the room they were in looked somewhat neglected. Perhaps she would find something in these textbooks that could help Richard.
Her father had kept a library with all his journals, textbooks and others he ordered from universities throughout the states. She loved to look through them as they were extremely interesting. She smiled as she remembered finding all sorts of information and had asked her father about them. He’d been astounded at her questions and encouraged her to read everything she could in his library.
She ran her fingers over a few leatherbound books and sneezed as she brushed dust off the covers. She perused the titles of the books, and one caught her attention,Medicine and Alchemy.
Ruth remembered her father had a few books on medicine, but nothing on alchemy. He knew everything that medicines were made of, but he never made his own medicine, not like Alistair.
The book covered a bit of the history of alchemy and how at first people were afraid and preferred herbal treatments. She found a few pages that had been turned at the corners, well-worn and felt a bit dusty. She opened the book to those pages and smiled in surprise. Those pages contained old recipes for certain types of medication and listed certain herbs and chemicals that could be lethal if too much was administered.
Surely this book should be with Alistair, and Ruth thought hesitantly about reading it or not. What was it doing here? Should she give it to him? It was an old book, so maybe it had become obsolete and was discarded with the rest of the old books.
Ruth couldn’t hold back her curiosity and decided to read through the listings, finding everything to be in order. Nothing stood out as something she didn’t already know. Still, she read on and began to frown as she read through the symptoms of too much mercury ingestion. She heard Rose approach, closed the book, and placed it to one side. She’d read it later, as it looked interesting. She might learn something after all and surprise even Alistair. Just the mere thought had her in near hysterics.
“How is Richard?” Ruth asked as she passed over a set of books for Rose to pack inside an empty cabinet that had been full of linen.
“He doesn’t look good.” Rose placed the books inside the cabinet and looked worried. “Dr. Grant is worried and Richard’s breathing is labored.”
Ruth’s heart dropped. It wasn’t the news she wanted to hear. She handed Rose more books to store.
“These books are dusty,” Rose suddenly began an attack of dust sneezes. “Excuse me for a bit, I apologize,” she left to find a handkerchief.
Ruth chuckled; she had her fair share of the dust earlier. She dug a bit deeper and continued to place books and documents behind her for Rose to pack when she returned, until she came to the far corner of the room. She stopped and her brows knitted curiously as she saw a small bottle that shone silver. She bent down, moved documents away from the wall so she could get closer, and reached out for the bottle. It felt cold and she gasped when she realized it was half a bottle of mercury. What was a bottle of mercury doing in a place like this? It was half empty and she knew her father almost never used mercury unless the illness was serious enough to require it. What disturbed her more than the mercury itself was the quantity missing from the bottle.
Could there have been another disease outbreak in Cheyenne not so long ago? That would explain why the bottle was left here, but then her father had been careful in the usage of all medicine. She had been under the impression that Daniel, and more precisely, Alistair, was extremely fussy and cautious about medicine. Why would he be so careless? Could he have miscounted his stock of mercury bottles?
Still, she wondered why half a bottle of mercury was used just for syphilis and occasionally for melancholy. Only a little mercury was used for other illnesses—mostly small tinctures and grain measures including those of opiates or morphine for bad coughs, headaches, influenza, or diarrhea.
She’d have to ask Alistair or Daniel about it later, but she had a nagging feeling within her that something was not right. She chastised herself for being simply foolish, but an uneasy feel stayed with her. She pocketed the bottle of mercury, picked upMedicine and Alchemy,and sat on an old oak chair. It was dusty and seen better days but felt solid.
She opened the book and found the weathered pages that held the information about mercury. As she read through the contents listed under the dangers of too much mercury, a feeling of dread fell upon her as she read through the pages. She felt her blood go cold. Her mind returned to the conversation she had with Elizabeth some time ago over Dr. Alexander Grant’s death, and it was as if she could hear Elizabeth Palmer speak into her ear.
“His health deteriorated quickly, and the pneumonia was worse than before. He stopped eating … lost too much weight, started bleeding, and had terrible stomach upsets … teeth started loosening … hair started to fall out … tremors, and his skin changed color and formed a rash … Went from being an easy-going man to suddenly being anxious. His mind had been as sharp as a needle, but near the end, he started to lose his memory.”
Ruth frowned and stared at the words on the page. Teeth loosening, memory loss, anxiety, rash forms on the skin, stomach upsets, bleeding. This had to be a coincidence. Dr. Alexander Grant had passed away from leukemia, but many of the symptoms Elizabeth had described were not normal and oddly matched some of the symptoms listed in this book. How could Dr. Alexander Grant die from leukemia, but have most of the symptoms of mercury poisoning? It didn’t make any sense. But, as Alistair was quick to point out, she was not a doctor, and he was the expert in medicine. Maybe there was information that she was not aware of. After all, medical advancements were gaining impressive ground.
Ruth had been so engrossed in the book that she didn’t see Rose hastily enter the room.
“Ruth, Ruth!” Rose said, her voice shaky and she was clearly flustered, “Mrs. Bloomer is here with young Tom. They are insisting to see Mr. Bloomer, and—”
“It’s alright, Rose,” Ruth interrupted gently. “I’ll assist them while you carry on here and pack the books that I’ve put out, except for this one.” Ruth stood and showed her the book she had been reading and placed it on the chair. “Where are the Bloomers?”
Rose nodded and replied, “They are seated in Dr. Grant’s consulting room. I told them to wait there, and Dr. Grant will come see them shortly, but he is currently busy with Mr. Bloomer, and I don’t want to disturb him.”
“Did you tell them anything about Mr. Bloomer?” Ruth asked, hoping Rose had said nothing about the diphtheria.
