Chapter 4
With the help of Barry, Pam started some projects to create soap for washing and food preservation methods. Pam began wearing local women's clothing over Barry, and the townsfolk were told that Pam was Merlin's sister.
In the evenings, Pam told Merlin about her husband Ralph's adventures when he first got his suit. How he was the only hero then, and how his partner, Bill Maxwell, helped him. She also told him Ralph had lost the suit and had to transfer it to Holly Hathaway. The long story, which took a few days to get through, was how Ralph got the suit back when he was 70, was regenerated, fought the alien invasion, and saved the world by breaking the energy cable but was severely injured. Merlin thought this was an exciting and incredible adventure.
Each evening, Pam told another experience or part of an incident that involved her husband. Merlin thought, 'He must be a truly magnificent man; no wonder Pam married him.' He knew he never had a chance to compete against a man like that.'
One day, a family came to the cottage with their injured son. They knew Merlin knew some magic and asked if he could help their son. Merlin and Pam brought him into the cottage, making the family wait outside, and the two discussed what to do for the boy. The boy had a fractured arm with the bone exposed. It had been like this for a few days, and an infection had started. The boy had a high fever.
Merlin asked, "Is there anything your magic can do?"
Pam said, "I will talk to Barry about it."
She stared off, and Barry came forward. He placed Pam's hand over the boy's arm and slid it down the length. He said, "The break is clean; we can reset it and close the wound. However, the arm may never work as well as before the break because the muscles may not reattach to the bone. We do not have the technology to perform the type of surgery needed during this period. We must collect several plants and herbs to create pain relievers, antiseptics, and anti-inflammatories."
Pam stood and told Merlin, "Tell the family to go home, that it will take several days to save the boy, and his arm may never be as good, but the boy will live."
Merlin went out and told the people the information. They got into their cart and rolled off down the path.
Pam immediately picked up a basket and headed for the forest to collect plants, herbs, and fungus that Barry showed her in her mind. Some items she had to fly several hundred miles to collect. She was gone for only an hour. When Merlin saw her fly away, he was astounded. Her powers were incredible.
When she returned, she prepared the items as instructed by Barry. She showed Merlin what to do. She made pain relievers from several different hallucinogenic fungi and plants. She dried herbs next to the fire and had several small pots with various plants and herbs boiling in water and oils. They gave the boy the hallucinogenic tincture, and the boy no longer felt pain. They snapped the bone back into place and used boiled plant fibers to sew the wounds closed.
Pam removed the boy's clothes and washed him from top to bottom with the soap she had made, which had never been done in his life. She had Merlin wash the boy's clothes with the soap and hang them to dry. He thought this was crazy but did as he was told because he knew she was far more knowledgeable than he. While the boy was hallucinating, she made a bed pad from a linen pillow filled with straw and moss to absorb any urine and fluids that may be deposited while the boy could not go to the toilet. They wrapped the boy's wounds with honey, herbs, and a cloth to prevent infections and bound his arm tightly with two flat sticks on either side of the arm.
After a few days, Merlin returned the boy to his family, showed them how to make the pain-relieving tea, and told them to return to his cottage every few days to change the bandages. The family did everything they were told to do. The boy survived; his arm healed but was never as strong as the non-broken arm. Word got around what Merlin could do, and more people started coming to the cottage for healing. Soon, there were too many for Merlin and Pam to handle. They asked for a second building for the townsfolk to act as a hospital. Pam offered to train hospital attendants to prepare the plants, herbs, and fungus. She told everyone that she had learned everything she knew from Merlin.