by S G Read
'What’s wrong with her?' She asked.
'She is getting drunk.' I replied and steered Charley out of the house.
I explained just what I had to do and just what the chances of her dying were and she wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest.
'If I don’t do it she will die of septicaemia.' I continued. 'If I do it and everything goes well and she doesn’t get septicaemia or a fever she just might live!'
'Poor you.' She said looking up at me. 'You like George but you have to be the one who kills her!' She could see the tears running down my face. 'Just do your best, it has been okay so far!'
'Sharpen the little knife and I mean sharp.' I replied and pushed her in the direction of the knife. 'When she passes out I will start.'
I walked back in to see Natasha giving her some more wine. I looked at the bottle, it was half-empty but the bottle had been over half empty before I walked out. I looked around and there in the corner was the first bottle, empty!
'Wait to see what happens, too much of that won’t do her any good either.' I warned.
Natasha clasped her hand to her mouth in horror.
George was laying there mumbling, now incoherently.
'One of you hold each leg and one hold each arm,' I ordered, 'to stop her moving while I do it. I need her shorts off and this area washed with that carbolic soap the one that smells.'
The girls hovering in the background soon brought hot soapy water and washed George as clean as they could. Charley walked in with the knife and showed me her bleeding finger.
'It cuts alright.' She said tearfully.
'Bring the lights and that magazine closer, keep the first aid kits close by and mop up when I say so Charley. Clean cloths each time though! Tabby you and Tammy keep the cloths clean and dry them as best you can. Andrea, did you charged the battery.'
Andrea nodded.
I stood there, knife in hand. George had lapsed into silence now and I had no excuse to wait any longer but I could not bring myself to cut her. I put the blade just where it said ready to cut where it said but tears fell unceasingly. I felt a hand on my hand and saw Charley’s hand pushing down on the knife. I drew it along and blood came out. I had started! I cut deeper and deeper doing just what it said in the book until I found what I was looking for, a very swollen appendix. I followed the next step, then the next, pausing only for Charley to wipe the tears out of my eye so that I could see. It seemed to be a dream. I followed the next step and dropped the appendix into the salt water we had ready for it. Then I had to stitch her up. Luckily there were dissolvable sutures it the big kit and I used them where it said to, for the rest of the stitches I used the ordinary ones. She was still breathing when I tied the last stitch but I did not know how long she would keep breathing for, she had lost a lot of blood and we had no means of giving her any, even though we had no shortage of volunteers to do so!
I looked at her lying there; so helpless and so young.
'Wash the wound carefully Charley.' I said quietly. 'Then dry it well, I want to use sticky plaster to hold the bandage on it.'
'Why not tie it?' She asked.
'I don’t want to lift her to pass it under her.' I answered.
She understood and washed away the blood, then dried the area before more blood welled out. I stuck a patch over it with tape and breathed a sigh of relief that it was over.
'Well she’s still alive.' I said with a sad smile which could not hide my thoughts.
I walked outside into the sunlight. Would George ever see the sunlight again?
We organised sitting teams, three to be with her all the time so that if any two fell asleep there was one awake to call me in the event of trouble. The three were replaced half way through the day, and then again at dusk. Half way through the night they changed again but no one slept much. I was never far away even if I went up stairs, supposedly to sleep.
Day 66 on the island.
The first light of morning found me looking at the wound. There were a few red patches round the stitches and I used the cream from the first aid box as liberally as I could. I put the temperature tester on her forehead; it was just a piece of plastic. It moved up to 102.
'Come here Charley.' I called and she was there in an instant.
I tried it on her head and it read just over 98.
'She is running a temperature!' I said despondently.
'What can we do?' Charley asked.
'Cool her down!' Tammy said holding up another medical magazine.
'How?' Charley asked.
'The stream is cold!' Natasha answered.
It was a possibility.
'Lets us take her outside.' I ordered.
We carried her gently outside.
'Where now?' Charley asked.
'The cave!' I answered, the answer just coming to me. 'No flies in there and it is cold.'
They looked at the slope, then at the platform.
'We’ll get her there somehow!' Natasha declared and we started up the hill.
It was not an easy climb, as we had to make sure George did not move too much but we ended up outside the cave. We carried her inside and walked back out to don coats and blankets. George lay there on the platform, not moving bar the regular breathing.
We had to light the lamp and keep it lit to check her temperature. The first time I tested it was when we arrived and she had a temperature of 104. Ten minutes in the cave had it down to 103 and it kept falling. When it reached 98 we carried her back outside. Her temperature climbed back up. So we spent the rest of the day taking her in and out of the cave.
With the sun soon going to set, we carried her out and watched her. She stayed cold and her temperature fell to 97. We put a blanket over her, then another. Her temperature steadied and stayed steady.
'We’ll carry her back before it gets dark.' I said and we started back down.
I was pleased when we stood the platform back down in the house but the battery was flat and no one had charged it! We spent an awful night in the dark listening to George breathing and testing her temperature with a hand in the dark. When it was light enough I checked her temperature and found it fairly normal, a good sign! I sent Girls to charge the battery and when Charley woke I went up to bed leaving strict instructions to call me if there were any problems.
Day 67 on the island.
I spent the morning lying on my bed. I had moved it near the top of the ladder so that I could hear what was going on and if they needed me. I slept a little but at any moment I expect to hear someone say. 'She’s stopped breathing.'
When I could stand it no longer, I climbed down the ladder. I felt as though I had run a marathon and I had done little for two days except worry. I looked at the wound, cleaned it and put a fresh patch on it. She seemed to have fought off the fever and I wondered what was next on the list!
With nothing more to do I sat outside in the sun with the next crossbow. I started work and promptly fell asleep. No one woke me until food was ready. I checked on George but Charley and Natasha assured me there had been no change. They were right, she was sleeping now and I allowed a little hope to creep into my heart. Was it possible she could survive after I was forced to do that to her? She had lost a lot of blood! I stopped second-guessing; only time would tell.
That afternoon I finished another crossbow and started on the next one. I wanted all those who could handle a crossbow, to have one with them at all times. The boar’s days were numbered if he tried to hurt one of the girls again! The sun fell and I took my crossbow inside with me and turned on the lights. I sat for a while with the girls, they were all sitting round the platform talking, waiting for some sign.
Eventually I went up to my bed and tried to sleep but all I could do was to listen to what was being said below. During the night I heard a voice I recognised say.
'My head hurts!'
'I am not surprised, you drank one and a half bottles of Walters wine.' Charley answered.
'Why did I do
that?' George asked.
By now I had my head over the side and I could see George talking.
'Because of the pain.' Natasha suggested.
'Oh I remember that!' She put her hand down to where I had operated.
Charley made sure she did no more than feel it with her hand, then lifted her hand up and held it.
'It was your appendix.' She said as she caressed her sister’s hand.
'Oh that. It hurt when I was in school but I heard the headmistress talking to mum on the phone, she was going to have our doctors look at it, when we returned home!' She suddenly became worried. 'It will wait until then won’t it?'
Charley walked over to the jar which held her appendix and brought it over for her to see.
'Is that it? Will there be a scar?'
'Probably, conditions here weren’t as good as our private hospital.' Charley replied.
'Good, it serves her right.' George declared. 'Hang on, how did it get out of me and into that jar?'
'Walter took it out after you had drunk his wine.' Natasha answered.
'He was looking forward to that wasn’t he?' George said apologetically.
'He was but now he is going to make some more and keep it ready for any other emergencies!' Andrea answered.
'It’s not fair; I didn’t get any when he sewed up my leg.' Charley complained. 'I’ve a good mind to have some anyway!'
'It was good once I got used to it.' George admitted.
Though she spoke about it Charley made no move toward the bottle which stood in the corner, on the opposite side to where the shower was fitted. I lay back on my bed and slept!
Day 68 on the island.
The lookouts returned to their posts. I stayed and looked after George, with Tammy to help me cook and tidy up. George was obviously going to be difficult to keep still while she was convalescing but keep still she was going to! My brother had to wait ten days before they took out the stitches, then another week before he went back to school. That was my yard stick and I was adding a few days here and there to make sure that when she was allowed up she did not tear her wound open!
She bitched about this and then that, then she wanted to go! I called Tammy and she produced her latest invention, a bed pan made of the same stuff we slept on but with a carrier bag inside to catch what came out. She washed the carrier bag in the stream and returned to the bedpan ready for next time. For today I rigged up the lights and let her read the only available magazine, the medical one. It did the trick; she was asleep soon after she started reading the first one. I hid the one about the appendectomy.
I turned off the lights and put the battery on charge while she slept, I knew it would all start again when she woke but for now I had time to work. We cooked a banquet, not that George was having any, I was also making a broth for her.
The girls returned when the sun was starting to drop. When I saw them coming I retrieved the battery and turned the lights on.
'No sign?' I asked.
'Not a thing.' Andrea answered. 'How is George?'
'Bitching.' Tammy answered.
'That’s a good sign.' Tabby said and walked in to see her.
'I’ve made her some broth Charley, will you feed her?' I asked.
'Okay, I’ll eat mine later.'
I put the broth into a soup dish and on a plate as if they were at home but there were no soup spoons just ordinary spoons.
'You can tell she’s royalty.' Natasha exclaimed.
Charley merely stuck out her tongue and took the broth in to George.
I settled down to make another crossbow. Sarah sat next to me making bolts. She chose the wood for the correct weight ratio and hardened the tip of the finished bolt in the embers. The speed it went made it such a good weapon.
Charley fed George then ate herself while others listened to George's reasons why she should be allowed off the platform. They argued back, some being more graphic suggested that her intestines would fall out on to the floor! That did the trick!
With a pile of crossbows now, anyone going out of the compound took one. Spare time was spent practising, just in case they were given something else to do; it was getting just like home.
Charley, Andrea and Natasha made up beds down next to George and I left them to it. The half a bottle of wine was still where it ended up when I started the operation. To think of it still brought tears to my eyes; I came so close to killing one of my girls! Still I did it well enough, even though it was touch and go there for a while. I went up to bed after checking the wound and refusing to let her up in the morning. I slept well that night, like the girls, we were all tired. It had been a hard four days but now we could relax a little.
Day 69 on the island.
'You can go out into the sun today.' I said as I was looking at the wound.
I covered it again and stuck the patch down.
'Truly?' She asked warily.
'Truly.' I replied. 'Tomorrow I will take out half the stitches, if it still looks as well as this.'
I stepped over a sleeping Charley to wash the last patch in the shower. While I was there I had a shower, me being first in the shower was unusual for this house! When I walked back out there was already a queue.
'I hope you didn’t use all the hot water!' Sarah complained.
'What hot water, the sun’s only been up an hour!' I replied as I walked away.
The water was hot enough when I showered but I was not letting them know that, let them find out the hard way.
The lookouts took up their posts, after bringing down the meat we planned to cook and carrying George outside into the sun. I rigged up a blanket with a string so she could pull it over her as shade if she was getting too hot, although I was going to keep a sharp eye on her.
'Need something to read?' I asked.
'I have something here.' She answered and waved the medical journal I had hidden so well, or so I thought.
I smiled. 'Enjoy it.'
'I will, I hope.’ She said with that same twinkle in her eye which had been there before the operation.
I left her to read up on the appendectomy and wondered what she would make of it.
The girls watched and waited for someone to answer our distress call but there was no sign of any ships or rescue planes. One high flying plane passed some distance away, probably to far away for anyone to see our sign.
We ate and sat and talked. Not round the camp fire as usual but round the platform where George lay.
'I don’t believe you had your hands inside me!' She complained.
'It certainly cleaned them for me, blood washes hands very well.' I answered.
'Don’t you believe him George; he scrubbed his hands until they were spotless.' Charley assured her. 'The tears he was leaking out were more trouble!'
'Why were you crying?' George asked.
'If you don’t know the answer to that one, I will never tell you!' I answered.
'But inside my stomach!' She moaned.
'Hardly your stomach! That would have killed you.' I corrected. 'I merely poked about in your intestines for a while to find the bit which was hurting you.'
'What was it like?' She asked.
'Have you ever caught a little fish which has swallowed the hook?' I asked.
'What when its intestines comes out of its mouth and you have to shove them back in again?' Natasha asked.
'Yes, that’s what I mean.' I answered. 'What happens most times when you let them swim away?'
'They turn upside down and float away.' She answered.
'Precisely.' I rested my case.
'I haven’t turned upside down yet!' George pointed out.
'Well don’t, well not before morning anyway. Carry her inside and I’ll turn on the lights.' I walked into the house while the girls carried George inside on the platform.
'When can I get up?' She asked, not moaning, just wanting to know.
'It is day six tomorrow. I will take out some of your stitches in the morning-'
'You said half.' She stressed.
'I might take out some of your stitches in the morning.' I said revising my statement.
'That’s not fair!' She complained.
'I will be putting in some more stitches in the morning.' I revised it again.
'I should stop there before he does the whole operation again!' Natasha warned.
George went to speak but Charley held her hand over her mouth.
'Goodnight Walter.' She said sweetly.
'Goodnight girls, see you in the morning and-'
'We know, call you if there are any problems!' They said in unison.
'I was going to say, keep your hand there all night if you can!' I answered, and climbed up the ladder.
I could hear George trying to say something but it was well muffled by Charley’s hand.
Day 70 on the island.
The day was the same as the last with the girls on lookout duty while I cooked the food with Tammy. I took out some of Georges' stitches, the loose ones which were obviously no longer wanted. The girls took the wine up and stood it in the cave to keep cool. Tomorrow we would hunt and fish as long as George did not take a turn for the worst!
When they came down the girls on lookout duty were complaining.
'When George is fit enough we will go back up there and add to it. We will have another competition for the best idea.' I announced.
'Does the winner get the wine?' Natasha asked.
'No she doesn’t.' I answered. 'The wine is for the next person I operate on!'
After that no one wanted the wine, at any cost. We talked and then went to bed.
Day 71 on the island.
The sixth day after the operation. George was growing stronger and wanting to be up more than ever but the last thing I wanted was for her to tear her stitches. The magazine had said ten days after the operation all the stitches were taken out. I was going to make it twelve but after ten days she could start to move around the camp.
When she realised that she could not change my mind she spent the day sunbathing, or cooling in the shade when it was too hot.
