Chapter 8 - Rescue
Elise La Pointe had just finished pinning up the last of the laundry and was wondering what had happened to the blanket she had left out all night to air out. Maybe Grandmama had brought it in.
She went out to the barn to feed the chickens and as she came through the door, she noticed her blanket lying on the floor. 'How did that get out here?' As she stepped forward to pick it up, she noticed that it was wrapped around a man who appeared to be asleep on the barn floor. She ran back to the house to get her brother, Robert. He looked at the man, and decided he must have fallen off the ladder or the loft and he was obviously injured.
Robert told Elise that she should go get Grandmama, and hurry! He didn't want to move the man until she examined him for other injuries. Angelique Trudeau, age 74 and a retired nurse, was soon by the side of the man, checking his vital signs. "He is very sick. Why, he must have been out here all night! Bring him inside and we'll put him in the spare bedroom." She helped her grandson get him up off the floor and then Robert carried him in and carefully laid the stranger on the bed. They undressed him and then tucked him in. Angelique looked at the man's torn, bloodstained clothing. How had this happened? She pulled the blankets back and carefully examined the cold, shivering, unshaven fellow on the bed. There were no cuts anywhere that she could see. He was wet, dirty and a bit underweight, but not injured. So where did all the blood come from? She put the sweat shirt and pants aside and decided they were too torn up to mend. Suspicion clouded her mind as she pondered the situation. Something was definitely wrong here and she was determined to find out what!
The gentleman didn't wake up for a few hours, and when he did his eyes were glazed over with fever and he didn't focus on anyone. He kept mumbling, yelling out, "No," and "Please stop!" and once, "Just let me die." Other times he would say things in other languages but they could not understand him. His breathing was labored and he started coughing weakly.
They tried getting him to drink but he couldn't keep anything down. Angelique knew she had to call the doctor but she was almost unwilling to. Something about this man disturbed her. He was obviously re-living some nightmare and she had a feeling that she needed to keep his whereabouts unknown to the surrounding community.
She grew concerned as his fever rose even higher. He kept talking about someone named, 'Sharay.' By the way he talked, it sounded like she must have been either his wife or lover.
They kept bathing him in cool, wet towels but it didn't seem to be helping. By midmorning, she decided it was time to call Dr. Martins and have him come to the house. He was a trusted friend ... A retired doctor that she had worked with over the years.
"Oh, God! Get the dogs off me. Help! Please!" The man was writhing in his bed, in obvious terror. Elise sat down on the edge of the bed and started singing in French, a little tune from her school days. She held his hand and he stopped moving and calmed down, and as he listened to her voice he finally drifted off to an uneasy sleep.
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Dr. Henri Martins examined him and grew concerned at the high fever and started an IV. The man's eyes opened but he was obviously hallucinating and mumbled a lot about things that made no sense. The doctor injected him with a sedative and then he checked his lungs.
"He has pneumonia. His sprained ankle and bruised knee will heal in time but I'm concerned about his lungs and his mental state. All things considered, he'll be lucky to live. I'll give him an antibiotic but he should be in the hospital."
When the stranger finally fell into a deep sleep, Dr. Martins drew Angelique aside and asked her for a more complete explanation.
He listened quietly as she told him about finding the man in the barn. He had obviously spent the night there wrapped up in one of her blankets but he was soaking wet and unconscious when they found him. Her grandson helped get him inside and undressed and that's where he's been ever since.
Then he told her that there had been some strangers in the village this morning, asking about an english speaking man with blue eyes. They were looking for him and told everyone that he had escaped from a mental hospital and was extremely dangerous. Obviously, this was the man they were looking for.
"Are you sure about these men who are looking for him? He's been talking about someone hurting him. Some of the things he's described sounds like he's been tortured." She showed him the bloody, torn clothing. "I don't think we should let anybody know he is here. When he recovers, we can find out who he is. He must be from the States. He speaks many languages, but mostly english. Please, Henri, do not give him away."
"Angelique, how do we know that this man is not dangerous? He could wake up and become violent."
"I don't think so. Besides, if he wakes up, he won't be able to do much. He's very weak. We can question him and see if he is the man they are looking for, but I want to be sure about who those men are, first. Let's wait until we know more."
"If you say so. I won't say anything. I think we're going to need some oxygen and more medical supplies, though. I'll get those things and be back soon. Keep a chart like you would at the hospital. Other than sitting with him and giving him the medicines, there isn't much else we can do."
He left, wondering if the man would live through the day.