Алистер Маклин - Breakheart Pass

He said: ‘If you will excuse me, I have a hard day ahead tomorrow and an oldster like me needs his sleep.’

Marica said politely: ‘A hard day, Dr Molyneux?’

‘I’m afraid so. Most of our medical stores in the supply wagon were loaded at Ogden only yesterday. Must have them all checked before we get to Fort Humboldt.’

Marica looked at him in amused curiosity. ‘Why all the great hurry, Dr Molyneux? Couldn’t it wait till you get there?’ When he made no immediate answer she said smilingly: ‘Or is this epidemic at Fort Humboldt, influenza or gastric influenza or whatever you said it was, already out of control?’

Molyneux did not return her smile. ‘The epidemic at Fort Humboldt–’ He broke off, eyed Marica speculatively, then swung round to look at Colonel Claremont. ‘I suggest that any further concealment is not only pointless and childish but downright insulting to a group of supposedly intelligent adults. There was, I admit, a need for secrecy to allay unnecessary fear – well, if you like, understandable fear – but all those aboard the train are now cut off from the rest of the world, and will remain that way, until we arrive at the Fort where they’re bound to find out–’

Claremont raised a weary hand to dam the flow of words. ‘I take your point, Doctor, I take your point. I suppose we may as well tell, Dr Molyneux here is not an Army doctor and never will be. And, by the same coin, he’s not any ordinary run-of-the-mill general practitioner – he is a leading specialist in tropical diseases. The troops aboard this train are not relief troops – they are replacement troops for the many soldiers who have died in Fort Humboldt.’

The puzzlement on Marica’s face shaded quickly into fear. Her voice, now, was little more than a whisper. ‘The soldiers – the many soldiers who have died–’

‘I wish to God, Miss Fairchild, that we didn’t have to answer your questions as to why the train is in such a hurry or why Dr Molyneux is in such a hurry or the Marshal’s question as to why the Governor is so anxious.’ He squeezed his eyes with his hand, then shook his head. ‘Fort Humboldt is in the grip of a deadly cholera epidemic.’

Of the Colonel’s seven listeners, only two registered anything more than a minimal reaction. The Governor, Molyneux and O’Brien were already aware of the existence of the epidemic. Pearce lifted only one eyebrow, and fractionally at that; the semi-recumbent Deakin merely looked thoughtful; apparently he was even less given than Pearce to untoward displays of emotional reaction. To an outside observer the lack of response on the part of those five might have appeared disappointing: but this lack was overcompensated for by Marica and the Rev. Peabody: fear and horror showed in the former’s face, a stunned and disbelieving shock in the latter’s. Marica was the first to speak.

‘Cholera! Cholera! My father–’

‘I know, my child, I know.’ The Governor rose, crossed to her seat and put his arm around her shoulders. ‘I would have spared you this, Marica, but I thought that if – well, if your father were ill, you might like–’

The Rev. Peabody’s recovery from his state of shock was spectacularly swift. From the depths of his armchair he propelled himself to his feet like a jack-in-the-box, his face a mask of incredulous outrage. His voice had moved into the falsetto register.

‘How dare you! Governor Fairchild, how dare you! To expose this poor child to the risks, the awful risks, of this – this dreadful pestilence. Words fail me. I insist that we return immediately to Reese City and – and–’

‘Return how?’ O’Brien maintained a carefully neutral tone and expression. ‘It’s no easy feat, Reverend, to turn a train on a single track railway.’

‘For heaven’s sake, padre, what do you take us for?’ Claremont’s surging irritability couldn’t have been more clearly demonstrated by the waving of a red flag. ‘Assassins? Would-be suicides? Or just plain fools? We have provisions aboard this train to last a month. And aboard this train we will remain, all of us, until Dr Molyneux pronounces the camp free from the epidemic.’

‘But you can’t, you can’t!’ Marica rose, clutched Dr Molyneux by the arm and said almost desperately: ‘I know you’re a doctor, but doctors have as much chance – more chance – of catching cholera than anyone else.’

Molyneux gently patted the anxious hand. ‘Not this doctor. I’ve had cholera – and survived. I’m immune. Good night.’

From his semi-recumbent position on the floor Deakin said: ‘Where did you catch it, Doctor?’

Everyone stared at him in surprise. Felons, like little children, were supposed to be seen and not heard. Pearce pushed himself halfway to his feet, but Molyneux waved him down.

‘In India,’ Molyneux said. ‘Where I studied the disease.’ He smiled without much humour. ‘At very, very close quarters. Why?’

‘Curiosity. When?’

‘Eight, ten years ago. Again why?’

‘You heard the Marshal read out my wanted notice. I know a little about medicine. Just interested, that’s all.’

For a few moments Molyneux, his face oddly intent, studied Deakin. Then he nodded briefly to the company and left.

‘This,’ Pearce said thoughtfully, ‘isn’t nice. The news, I mean. How many at the last count, Colonel? Of the garrison, I mean. The dead.’

Claremont glanced interrogatively at O’Brien, who was his usual prompt and authoritative self. ‘At the last count – that was about six hours ago – there were fifteen. That is out of a garrison of seventy-six. We don’t have figures as to the numbers stricken but still alive but Molyneux, who is very experienced in such matters, estimates, on the basis of the number of the dead, that anything between two-thirds and three-quarters of the remainder must be affected.’

Pearce said: ‘So possibly there are no more than fifteen fit soldiers left to defend the Fort?’

‘Possibly.’

‘What a chance for White Hand. If he knew about this.’

‘White Hand? Your bloodthirsty chief of the Paiutes?’ Pearce nodded his head and O’Brien shook his. ‘We’ve thought of this possibility and discounted it. We all know about White Hand’s obsessive hatred of the white man in general and the United States Cavalry in particular, but we also know that he’s very, very far from being a fool. If he weren’t, the Army or–’ O’Brien permitted himself a slight smile ‘–our intrepid lawmen of the West would have nabbed him quite some time ago. If White Hand knows that Fort Humboldt is so desperately undermanned, then he’ll know why and will avoid the Fort like the plague.’ Another smile, but wintry this time. ‘Sorry, that wasn’t meant to be clever.’

Marica said shakily: ‘My father?’

‘No. Clear so far.’

‘You mean–’

‘I’m sorry.’ O’Brien touched her arm lightly. ‘All I mean is that I know no more about it than you do.’

‘Fifteen of God’s children taken to their rest.’ Peabody’s voice emerged from the depths of the sepulchre. ‘I wonder how many more of those poor souls will have been taken from us come the dawn.’

‘Come the dawn,’ Claremont said shortly, ‘we’ll find out.’ Claremont, clearly, was increasingly of the opinion that the padre was a less than desirable person to have around in circumstances such as these.

‘You’ll find out?’ Again the millimetric raising of Pearce’s right eyebrow. ‘How?’

‘There’s no magic. We have a portable telegraph transmitter aboard. We clamp a long lead on to the railroad telegraph wires: that way we contact the fort to the west of Reese City – even Ogden – to the east.’ He looked at Marica, who had turned away. ‘You are leaving us, Miss Fairchild?’