The Epidemic
Part I

Chapter 1

It was a cold, blustery afternoon in February, and both Jason and Joshua Bolt were out of town. The two eldest Bolt siblings had journeyed to East Washington Territory to personally tend to the matter of a bid for a large lumber contract, as well as deal with other business for the Bolt Brothers' Logging Company. Although he was the youngest, Jeremy Bolt didn't mind being left behind in Seattle to "hold down the fort." Considering just how self-sufficient most of the men who worked for the Bolt brothers were, and those who needed more direction respected Jeremy enough, despite his youth, to listen to his suggestions, things usually ran pretty smoothly, especially considering it gave the men a break from Jason "barking" orders at them.

Suddenly, the calm of the camp was broken, as everyone heard the much-anticipated sound of the town bell clanging at Lottie's Saloon, signaling the arrival of Clancey's ship, the Shamus O'Flynn. However, despite the happy anticipation of the grizzled, old sea captain's arrival, as everyone began gathering in the town square near the dock, a pall fell over the crowd as they noticed the black fag flying from the ship's mast. It was a sure sign that some terrible, and, more importantly, contagious sickness had contaminated the vessel. Any doubts were put to rest as a very tired and worn Clancey appeared on deck to warn, his voice nothing more than a weakened wheeze, "All of ya's better stand clear! We've managed to all come down with some sort of misery that was makin' the rounds in San Francisco… Methinks it may be the influenza." He hacked and coughed continuously as he made his way below deck again.

Someone ran to get Dr. Allyn Wright, the town's only doctor, while everyone else murmured worriedly among themselves. When Dr. Wright arrived, the community spread out like a fan to make way for her to approach the ship.
"Are you sure you want to go in there?" Ben, the general store owner, asked nervously.

Glancing toward the vessel. Allyn lifted her head before nodding, "Well, this is what I was trained to do. I suppose I might have to live down there with the crew if it is bad enough. Someone should be my 'supply run' person at the dock for medications, food, and water for a while, though."

"I will," Ben said.

"Thank you," Dr. Wright replied, then she covered her nose and mouth with a bandana and headed down below.

The quarters reeked of urine, feces, and vomit. Dr. Wright was grateful she had worn a face covering. She could not believe the conditions; they were as rank as any she could have imagined.
After inspecting the quarters in general, she went up to each crew member and asked "How are you feeling today?" She got the same replies from all the men, detailing severe influenza symptoms. She did put her hand on several foreheads, noting high fevers. When she got to Clancey, she remarked, "Well, Captain, you all really do have a terrible influenza epidemic in here. The bad news is that we have to clean out this hull and disinfect it before anyone gets any worse. The good news is that you all should recover - eventually."

Clancey managed a weak smile. "You'll have to pay someone to clean all this up, dearie, for I'm afraid none's of us is up to that task."

"Yes, I can see that," Dr. Wright sympathetically replied. She did not want anyone else from town catching this virus, so she found a grubby apron, put it on, and set to work to do it all herself.

One of the men saw her and asked feebly, "Can I help ye, Miss?"

"Only if you can throw a bucket overboard," she said. He actually got up and tried, but he almost dropped the bucket the minute he picked it up. Just then, he added more vomit to the bucket, and feebly whispered; "Sorry, Miss, I guess I ain't up to anything yet…"

"I understand," she replied gently, although she was grimacing inside. Any time anyone got any bodily fluids out in the open, it became more contagious for everyone else. She went up on deck and asked Ben to get her some cleaning rags, buckets and mops, lots of disinfectant, and more face covers. Ben's eyes widened, but he did as she asked.

"Let me help you, Ben!" chimed in Biddie Cloom, as she followed Ben up to his store.
Biddie was one of the brides who was "imported" from New Bedford, CT to quell the discord among the many single men, and to help the town grow,
Candy Pruitt, Jeremy Bolt's fiancée, asked, "Dr. Wright, is there anything else we can help you with?"

"Definitely not," answered Dr. Wright. "I want you ALL to stay as far away from this ship as possible, for the foreseeable future."
When nobody got moving, she yelled "SKAT!" and the crowd dispersed quickly.

Chapter 2

After several long hours, Allyn got most of the hull cleaned up and cleared out. When she started swabbing the deck, some of the men felt well enough to stand and help her, while leaning heavily on the mops. Together they disinfected all the floors below and above the deck. She then took fresh rags and asked "any helpers who can stand for a while can dip these rags into this pail of disinfectant, and wipe down all surfaces - even the walls, cupboards, tables, chairs, and lamp bases. Everything that you can touch." Some others joined in to assist her, and everything looked and smelled clean and disinfected fairly soon.

"Whew!" Allyn said when all was finally finished. "I want to thank all of you gentlemen very much. I could not have completed this task alone."

She then queried "Is anyone here feeling worse than when you arrived?" Nobody raised their hands. "That's a very good sign. However, those of you who still feel queasy or have diarrhea, please take a remaining empty bucket and keep it near you." A few men took some of the remaining buckets. "I'll ask Ben to get us a few more, just in case…"

She went above deck, took off her bandana, and inhaled deeply. Then she sighed deeply. It was going to take a miracle not to infect the entire town. Candy was not too far away, so Dr. Allyn yelled out "Candy! Can you get the brides to make batches and batches of chicken broth and soup?"
Candy waved at her. "I sure can!" Then she disappeared into the dorm, where all the brides lived until they got married one by one.

Chapter 3

Dr. Wright insisted on staying aboard the Shamus O'Flynn for several days, especially while many of the men were still feverish and weak. Candy and the brides came through with flying colors on the chicken broth and soup. Those men whose stomachs were improving had the added meat that was in the soup. Some even felt well enough to nibble on cookies that the brides had also baked for them. The men certainly felt better than they had in a long time. The trip from San Francisco was a nightmare for virtually all of them.

Even though Clancy and the crew tried to insist that Dr. Wright go home every night to sleep in her own bed, she insisted on sleeping on the main deck, all covered up in blankets and coats. She was so dogged tired that, late one night, she did not hear Clancy tiptoe around her and scurry off the ship. He made haste to Lottie's, where he burst through the door and exclaimed "Darlin! I'm here for a drop of ye best whiskey!" He then proceeded to cough extensively.

Everyone in the bar looked up horrified, and most of them had the common sense to cover their mouths and make a hasty retreat out the front door.

Lottie took one look at him and said "FishFace! What on earth are you doing off your boat, infecting the whole town?"
"Aw, Dearie, you KNOWS my vessel is a ship, and you also knows I can't get well without a bottle of your finest on board with me, now…don't you, don't you knows now….?" He whined.

"What are you going to tell the rest of the crew where you got it?"

He glanced around the room and said. "Ah, darlin,' they hopefully won't know where I'll stash it, you see? I'm beggin' ya's, woman, have pity on an old, sick sailor!"

Lottie sighed, went over to her side shelf, and took out a bottle of her cheapest whiskey. She rolled it across the bar to where he sat, and said firmly "This is the ONLY bottle you are going to get until you are permitted to come ashore, do you understand?"

"Uh, yes, darlin,' for now, anyways…" and he staggered out the door, not even drunk.

When he returned aboard the Shamus O'Flynn, one of the boards creaked enough to rouse Dr. Wright. She suddenly sat straight up like she had been shot, and she exclaimed "Clancy! Don't tell me you snuck off the ship!"
"Uh - all right, Miss, I won't tell ye then…" and he tried to make his way down to the lower deck.
Dr. Wright got up immediately, roughly turning him around. He became quite dizzy and almost dropped his precious bottle of whiskey. Almost.

Her eyes grew dark with anger as she exclaimed, "Was this truly worth infecting the entire town?"
"Well, uh - doctor, I - uh -simply ran in and out of the bar real quick-like, so it doesn't really mat-"
"Yes, it DOES matter, especially to those who were in there, talking to the likes of you!"
"Well, um.." Clancy spoke slowly through a foggy brain, "to my recollection, everyone seemed to clear out the minute I got in." "Except for…..?"
"Well, of course, except for Lottie, but she —"
"How DARE you put the busiest person in town in danger like that?" snapped Allyn. "Just because of your grand entrance and exit, I will now have to go over there and disinfect every square inch of that saloon!" Dr. Wright was truly livid.

Clancy felt no other recourse but to try and slink down to his quarters with his whiskey. Dr. Wright quickly snatched the bottle out of his hands. "I will be hiding this from you, Captain. Do not even think you will have access to it for a long, long, time."
"Aww, come now, dearie, I needs that to get well!"
"Too bad. You'll have to get well without it. And every person in Seattle who now becomes ill will have you to blame. I want you to think long and hard about that, especially as you grow increasingly sober." She wanted to kick Clancy down the stairs, but he was hobbling badly enough on his own. She just sighed.

Dr. Wright wrapped herself up in as many blankets as she could, and hastened to the saloon.
She held some disinfectant in a rag as she tried to open the front door, but it was already locked. She jiggled it just enough that Lottie came and opened the door, looking worried. "Is that you again, FishFace?" When Allyn saw Lottie, she stepped back and asked her if she could please come in and disinfect everything in sight. "Oh, no, please don't worry about that. It can wait until tomorrow."
"I'm afraid it can't," said Dr. Wright. "Clancy just inadvertently infected you, the saloon, and possibly the entire town. Please let me try to keep the infection down in here." She began wiping down all surfaces in her path.
"And will you have to wipe me down, too?" Lottie asked.
"Well, not exactly like this, but I beg of you to stay awake just a while longer and take a hot bath, wash your hair, and remove all traces of infection."
Lottie took a long breath and yawned. "Well, I guess I can sleep in tomorrow - it's Sunday. We won't open till afternoon."
"Thank you, Lottie - you won't regret it. I promise." Then she left as quickly as she came.
Lottie sighed after locking up the saloon. "Oh, I think that bath can wait as well," she said as she retreated to her room.

It seemed like most of Clancy's crew was over the worst of it, and some of them would regularly sneak into town for a drink in the late afternoons. The loggers could tell that they were from the Shamus O'Flynn and not the Bolt or Stempel camps. Most of them just kept quiet, but one of them finally spoke up.
"Hey there," said Corky, "Aren't you from Clancy's crew?"
"And what of it?" Answered the sailor. "We're on the mend, anyway."
"Well, mend or not, we'd appreciate it if you'd finish up your drink and go back to your boat."
"Ship!" All the sailors said in unison. When Lottie saw how many had come into the saloon, she shooed them away, saying "Get out, all of you! You might be feeling better, but the whole town could be infected by now!"
The men reluctantly sulked out the door. One of them surreptitiously grabbed another bottle of whiskey for Clancy before he left.

Everyone remaining in the saloon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief together.
Soon after, it was time to retire and rest before another day of hard work.

Chapter 4

The next day, Dr. Wright decided to go back to her house. Clancy's crew did not seem to need her services any longer. Below deck, where all the men were gathered, she bid them adieu, but as she was leaving, she noticed a strong scent of whisky permeating the entire room.
She turned around and scolded them: "Now I know why it was so quiet in here last evening! Are you going to feel any remorse at all if you have infected the entire town just by your presence at Lottie's? You needed to stay in your quarters for at least three more days!"
The men just grumbled.
She sighed in disgust. "I wash my hands of all of you. If you need anything, ask Captain Clancy." She left in a huff, walking back to her house.
Unfortunately, she became very dizzy before reaching her destination. She fainted just steps before her front door. Big Swede and Corky were among several loggers passing by, and one of them said "Get Jason!" before he realized that Jason was out of town. "I'll get Lottie!" said another, as he ran off in that direction.
Of course, Lottie came quickly, carrying some things that she noticed Dr. Allyn was using in the saloon.
"You boys better leave right now," she said, after seeing what was all too evident in Dr. Wright's wan face. Lottie quickly got a bowl of cool water, soaked a towel in it, and applied it to Allyn's forehead. Dr. Wright just lay there, unconscious. She was too sick to even open her eyes.
Corky ran up to Jeremy at the camp to tell him that Dr. Wright was sick, too.
"Oh, great," said Jeremy."Well, we b-b-better work as hard as we can, as long as we can. We have to finish that f-f-flume before Jason returns."

The next few days were a flurry of activity, with all the loggers pushing themselves to complete the flume.
Each evening, they would retreat to Lottie's to have a few beers and let off some steam.
After one particularly exhausting day, Jeremy went by the dorm to see Candy. He knocked politely at the front door
"Oh, hello, Jeremy," Biddie said with her usual perkiness.
"Oh, um, hi… is Candy here?"
Candy poked her head out of the kitchen and came up to Jeremy, softly saying "Yes, I am."
"Would you like to take a little walk before dinner?" Asked Jeremy.
"Well," said Candy, "I would, but I have to tend to Dr. Wright, to give Lottie a chance to rest."
"Oh," said Jeremy. "She must be really sick."
"I'm afraid she is," Candy added as she was gathering a few things to bring to Allyn.
"Now, don't you go getting sick too, OK?"
"I'll certainly try not to," Candy replied as she whisked past him.
Jeremy followed her, pleading "Can't another bride do this instead of you?"
"We're all taking turns, Jeremy. If we can't nurse our town doctor back to health as soon as possible, we'll all be in serious trouble."
"B-b-b-ut…"
"Jeremy, I'm so sorry, but you have to realize that when Clancy snuck into the saloon, we were likely infected. This influenza is bound to hit all of us, sooner or later. So that just means you and I have to stay away from each other for a while, in hopes of keeping the germs contained." She blew him a kiss as she went into Allyn's office.

Jeremy's face grew dark with anger and frustration. As he was leaving, he heard a scream:
"Jeremy, come quickly!"
Swede was passing by, and they both ran into the office. To their horror, Lottie was on the floor unconscious. Allyn was still barely conscious, moaning in discomfort.
Swede quickly picked Lottie up in his arms and was leaving to bring her back to her room at the saloon when Candy said "No, Swede, stop! It's much better to find another bed here, to let them ride out this infection together."

Jeremy found a cot in an empty room, and he and Candy quickly assembled linens and a pillow on it.
"I sure hope this cot is c-c-comfortable enough for Lottie," Jeremy said anxiously.
"It will have to do," sighed Candy in resignation.

Swede gently placed Lottie atop the sheets and put a blanket on top of her.
Jeremy interjected, "Candy, you need some help here. You c-c-can't take care of both of them yourself."
"Well," Candy said, "I guess you could go back to the dorm and see which brides want to sacrifice themselves taking care of these very sick ladies."

Swede and Jeremy left, both with worried faces. Swede went back to his cabin, and Jeremy went to the dorm. To his surprise, several brides immediately offered to help Candy. Jeremy thought about it, then said "Um…well.. why don't all of you t-t-take 4-hour shifts or something, like, in pairs. Maybe even write up a schedule. I have a f-f-feeling I'll have to do the same for the loggers pretty soon…"

Sure enough, the next few days saw many loggers leaving early or not even coming in. Big Swede was one of the first to get hit - hard. Jeremy was busy doing what seemed like three tasks at once when Swede came up to him, leaned against a tree, and just slid down the bark, saying "Jeremy, I don't feel so good." Jeremy turned around and found Big Swede sitting on the ground in a daze.
"Ah, Swede, you better have a couple of the loggers help you back home."
"But you know I'm the one who can help you the most."
"Well, yes, but you can't help anybody when you can't even s-s-stand up. It would be better to let Miss Essie take care of you for a while, then c-c-come back when you can."

Jeremy called out for a couple of men, and they let Swede hang onto them as they walked slowly back to town. It seems like the stronger they are, the harder they fall, Jeremy thought to himself.
He sighed. He knew he was down to just a few strong men, but even they weren't looking so good lately. He decided to see how much he could accomplish alone….

Chapter 5

The days wore on in a blur for just about everyone in Seattle. Jeremy kept trying to see Candy at least in passing, but the rotating shifts of brides helping others, and others tending to sick brides, were too complicated to keep up with.

Someone was at least keeping the saloon open - the only bright spot in town. Jeremy went in after a hard day and saw Biddie looking like she owned the place. She was so comfortable tending to orders and keeping everyone happy that Jeremy wondered if she had tended a bar back in New Bedford. He chuckled.
Just then, Lottie came through the door that led to her room. Jeremy exclaimed "Lottie!" As he ran up to her. She was not her feisty self yet, but she was obviously on the mend.

"Hello, Jeremy," she answered, and when he asked her how she felt, she said "better than some, worse than others…" Jeremy asked if Dr. Wright was better as well.
"Ah, yes - I think she willed herself to get better at the speed of light, and thank goodness she did.
With her guidance, everyone is being taken care of much better now."

Jeremy smiled and headed out the door. He stopped by Biddie and asked "How's Candy? I haven't seen her in so long." Biddie just looked at him, then looked down, and murmured something.
"What did you say?" Jeremy persisted, and Biddie replied, "Well, um, she's sick now, too."

Lottie saw Jeremy's face turn to horror, and she followed him as he streaked toward the dorm.
He banged on the front door loudly. "Let me in!" He roared.
"Now, Jeremy…" Lottie tried to say.
"Let me in!" he pounded furiously.
One of the brides finally cracked the for open and said "My goodness! Don't you know there are sick people in here trying to rest?"
"Yes I know, and Candy is one of them! I have to see her. Now!"
With eyebrows raised, the bride answered "I'm sorry, Jeremy. No one is allowed upstairs to see any of the brides, sick or well."

Jeremy turned on his heels and hurried over to the second-floor dorm entrance, brushing Lottie aside, and climbing the steps two at a time. Lottie again said "Stop it, Jeremy! You have to follow protocol here!"
By then Jeremy was at the side door. He said "Protocol be damned," as he flung the door open and raced to Candy's bedside. There were a number of screams when a man was seen roaring through the bedroom, but when they all saw it was Jeremy, they quieted down.

Candy was barely conscious, but she heard Jeremy call her name repeatedly. "Candy! Candy..?"
She opened her eyes only slightly and whispered "Jeremy. What are you doing in here?"
"See what I mean?" Lottie was already trying to steer Jeremy away from her bed and out the door.
"No!" He said, as he shook her off and leaned in closer to his beloved.
"Candy? I want to stay here with you."
"Oh, Jeremy," she said feebly. "Don't worry about me. You can see I am well taken care of. I'll be all right. I just need to rest…." She then drifted off to sleep.

Jeremy's face went white, and he gasped, not being able to catch his breath. Lottie grabbed him by the arm and quickly ushered him out the door onto the deck. Jeremy just hung onto the deck railing, gasping for air.
"Jeremy, Jeremy! " Jeremy was still gasping when he haltingly said "I… c-c-can't g-g-o through this ag-g-ain! Those are… the … s-s-same words… that…"
Lottie turned him to face her, and held his face in her hands, saying firmly, "Jeremy Bolt. She is not your mother. She is young and she is strong. She also has never been weakened by childbirth. She will get well."
Jeremy just stood there, finally allowing his breath to return to a normal rhythm.

After Jeremy calmed down, Lottie told him, "Come on, let me get you a drink. You need a stiff one."
Jeremy let her lead him back to the saloon. The place was virtually empty since it was mid-afternoon. Even Biddie had left.
Only Aaron Stempel, the town's businessman and owner of the sawmill, was sitting in a chair, nursing a drink.
"Here, Jeremy, start with a tall, cold beer." She handed him the ale, and he held it against his forehead, more to steady himself than anything.
"Are you feverish too, boy?"
Jeremy looked at Aaron, who was barely holding onto his drink.
"No, but you sure look like you are."
Lottie said, "Come on, Aaron, let me get you a room upstairs so someone can tend to you."
"No thank you, dear Lottie; I will manage to go home - by myself." He attempted to get up from the chair, but almost toppled sideways. Jeremy caught him just in time.
"Come on, Stempel, let me help you home."
Aaron looked surprised that a Bolt brother would dare help him out, but he was too weak to provide a snappy come-back.
"What are you doing, Jeremy?" asked Lottie.
"Well, somebody's got to take care of him tonight. It might as well be me, since I can't sleep anyway." His concern for Candy ran very deep.

Lottie watched both men stagger down the street. She was wondering why Jason had not returned yet. She hoped he and Joshua had not gotten sick as well, even being many miles away from Seattle.

Chapter 6

Jeremy got Aaron settled in his bed, then got some towels and soaked them in cold water. He tended to Aaron for several hours, until he was too tired to continue. He then found a ladder-back chair, and propped himself up against a wall, raising his feet on a table so that he could rest. He closed his eyes and slept fitfully, awakened occasionally by Aaron's moaning and need for water.

Aaron had a fit of coughing early in the morning, which startled Jeremy awake, thinking he was on his last gasp or something. Jeremy quickly got up and brought Stempel some badly needed water. Aaron all but gulped it down. "Easy, there," Jeremy said. "You don't want to choke on it."
Stempel barely opened his eyes. When the haze lifted and he saw Jeremy, he asked "What are you doing here, Bolt?"
"Well, someone had to watch you last night, and I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep worrying about Candy, so…"
"Candy? She sick, too?"
"I don't think there are many citizens of Seattle who are healthy right now," Jeremy answered.
"Oh, OK, but… why you? Wouldn't the Mighty Bolt Brothers rather see me dead?"
Jeremy just sighed. "Listen, Aaron, I'm not here to g-g-get into that. There weren't that many choices in town to tend to you last night."
Both men were silent for a minute, when Jeremy asked, quizzically, "Besides, wouldn't you do the same thing for me, or any of the Mighty Bolt Brothers?"

Just then, several giggling brides approached Aaron's door. When they knocked, some were jesting "He can't answer the door if he's sick, silly!" However, Jeremy opened the front door to 3 anxious brides. They gasped when they saw him, for they thought it would miraculously be Aaron Stempel at the door.
"Oh, it's you!" Biddie exclaimed. "You must have stayed with Mr. Stempel all night!"
"Yes, I did," Jeremy replied groggily. He stepped back into the cabin and swung open his arm toward Aaron, saying "Ladies, he's all yours." Then he let himself out. Stempel started calling out after him "But wait, Bolt, I - Jeremy!" but Jeremy was already out the door and asking one of the brides "How's Candy today? Any better? Can I at least see her for one minute?"
"Jeremy, we all know just how much you want to see Candy, but she is still sick. She should be out of the woods in a few days. Don't even think about asking until then, OK?"
Jeremy let out a huge sigh. "Okay," he said, not hiding his disappointment. All the ladies were now fussing over Stempel, so he left, shaking his head at their generosity, and a little bit at his own.

When Jeremy reached the edge of the porch, a dizzy spell overcame him. He grabbed the rail, stood there, took a deep breath, and muttered angrily, "not now!" before he stepped onto the path and went up to the flume area.
Lottie was also bringing nourishment to the cabin, but it was for Jeremy, not Aaron. She saw Jeremy careen off the porch, and called out his name several times. He was too far away to hear her, for he kept staggering up the hill alone.

Chapter 7

When Jeremy arrived at the flume area, there was not one other person in sight. "Great," he mumbled. "I have to get the last section in place all by myself before Jason returns."

Most of the flume had been pre-assembled as much as possible. He realized he would be trying to connect two long pieces that were rather high off the ground, It would be next to impossible to do this task without some assistance. There wasn't even a ladder around. He decided to try the impossible anyway and grabbed the end of the flume that needed affixing, dragging it to the connecting section. He was desperately trying to stand up tall enough to reach the connection. Then he heard someone calling out. Maybe it was even his name… He looked toward the sound, but his blurry vision only cleared long enough for him to recognize Jason and Josh, riding up the hill. "Jason!" He said; then another wave of dizziness hit him, and he stumbled before falling to the ground, the weight of the flume section crashing on top of him.

The End of Part i