by Helen Wells
“What?” Cherry asked, holding her breath.
“Nothing. A pile of dirt. Just dirt and darkness. Some kids must’ve dug loose enough dirt to put the old barn door in place. They probably did it to make a hiding place for some game. Joe and I felt foolish, I can tell you! We put the door back as we found it.”
“If that’s a discovery,” Aunt Cora said, “then I’m a ring-tailed monkey.”
The first person to tell Cherry the bad news was the highway patrolman. He hailed her to a stop on the highway early Tuesday morning, and braked his car alongside her car.
“Morning! You’re Cherry Ames, the county nurse, aren’t you? I’m Tom Richards.” He touched his broad-brimmed hat in greeting. He was a strapping, sun-reddened man. “There’s some people suddenly taken sick around here, Nurse. Seems they went to the potluck supper—here’s their names. One of their youngsters stopped me on the road. They have no telephone to call the county health office.”
“Thanks, Officer.” Cherry took the slip of paper he handed her. Nichols, R.D. No. 3. She didn’t know them. “I’ll go right over there.”
“Right. See you again, Miss Ames.” The highway patrolman drove off.
Taken sick after the community supper! If one family was stricken, others might be, too. No one had reported sick yesterday, but it took time for an illness to develop. Cherry had left Sauk very early this morning. She stopped at a highway telephone booth and called her office.
“Yes,” the clerk said, “several families have phoned in asking for emergency help.” The clerk read off their names.
“I’ll go see them right away,” Cherry said. “Any word from Dr. Miller?”
“He’s on his way to the appendicitis case at the Anderson farm,” the clerk said. Cherry could make connections with him by telephoning the clerk periodically, as Dr. Miller would do.
At the Nichols’ place, Cherry found the father, mother, and the two eldest children in bed, seriously ill. All of them had similar symptoms: fever, extreme weakness, aching back and limbs, running nose, sore throat. Cherry recognized they had respiratory flu, in its acute stage. These were routine symptoms of respiratory flu.
She did not understand, though, why Mrs. Nichols reported that they all had diarrhea and cramps, and the younger child had been vomiting. Those were not respiratory flu symptoms. Those were symptoms of some other type of virus. But what? These patients had flu and something else which Cherry could not recognize. The symptoms of the unknown illness—the diarrhea, cramps, and vomiting—had started yesterday.
“Did you call a doctor, Mrs. Nichols?” Cherry asked.
“No, we treated ourselves.”
“With what?”
“Oh, just home remedies,” the woman said vaguely. Cherry put her vagueness down to her weak, sick state. She asked a few questions about the pot luck supper on Sunday. Mrs. Nichols said the room had been crowded and poorly ventilated.
“I guess some people there had colds,” the woman said.
“Someone there probably had a flu virus,” Cherry said, “and you caught it. I’m going to ask Dr. Miller to come to treat the four of you. Don’t try to get out of bed.”
Cherry gave first aid. She quickly made the four sick people as comfortable as she could, told the well children to keep away from them, left there, and telephoned for Dr. Miller. Then she drove to the next emergency names on her list.
In some of these families she found flu symptoms. In others she found even more acute flu symptoms plus the unexplained diarrhea and vomiting. Cherry was puzzled. In all the latter cases she noted that the families had “treated themselves with home remedies.” Exactly what home remedies? Nobody would tell the nurse. They seemed to be evading or too sick to talk.
Among these persons was the forbidding Jacob Hummer. His hand was healing—the man was strong and lucky! But Cherry urgently advised calling a doctor to check his flu infection.
“No!” said Hummer. “Nature will heal me.”
“Mr. Hummer, it’s necessary! If you won’t call a doctor, you can’t call me again, either. The rule is that the county nurse can make two home visits to encourage medical care. Only two calls, and no more if the family refuses to call a doctor when the nurse tells them it’s necessary.”
The Hummers gave in then, reluctant, but frightened by the man’s condition. Cherry telephoned in a call for Dr. Miller, and arranged to meet him later that afternoon.
They met and worked together at the Nichols’ and the Hummers’. Then they went to the crossroads grocery store, for a conference over a carton of milk. Cherry described her day’s cases to Dr. Hal.
“What’s this about so many having diarrhea and cramps?” Dr. Hal asked. “Those aren’t flu symptoms.”
“I think those patients all dosed themseves with some kind of home remedy,” Cherry reported, “instead of getting medical help right away.”
Dr. Hal frowned. “Find out what the remedy is. I’ll inquire, too.”
Nobody was willing to tell Cherry what the remedy was. And she could not find out the reason for this silence. One farm woman said she had been advised to “keep mum,” but swore she’d heard it effected many cures. Cherry noticed, in the next day or two, that those flu patients who had taken the remedy were sicker than ever. And not with flu! The ordinary flu cases were getting well! Dr. Miller, aided by other county physicians, was kept busy treating this emergency. He had a hard time diagnosing the elusive ailment, and when these patients began to recover, it was slowly. On an off chance, he treated some patients for poisoning; it helped.
“What in the world have they taken?” he said to Cherry. “We must find out.”
Cherry finally learned something on Friday at the Swaybill’s farm. Marge and Clyde, the teenagers, had attended the potluck supper, and while Clyde had a mild runny nose and sore throat, Marge was acutely sick. She was in bed in her own room. She complained privately to Cherry of terrible cramps.
“I think what did it,” Marge said, “was that new patent medicine Mother dosed me with. I wasn’t hardly sick until she gave me that stuff yesterday.”
Cherry pricked up her ears. “What new patent medicine?”
“That herb remedy. Everybody for miles around has been buying it,” Marge said. “Mother always thinks this or that new remedy is going to make her stronger, and cure everything.”
Cherry went to question Mrs. Swaybill. The hospital laboratory had examined her throat swab of the last visit and found it did not carry any virus; Mrs. Swaybill had just a common, very sore throat. Now Cherry was concerned lest Amy Swaybill catch a further infection from Marge—and she wanted to learn about that new patent medicine.
“Why, it’s just a harmless mixture of natural herbs,” Mrs. Swaybill answered Cherry’s question. “A bowl of herb tea saves you from a fever, they say. So I thought, when Marge began to run a fever, that this new herb medicine sounded good—”
Apparently Mrs. Swaybill relied as much on “natural” remedies as Aunt Cora’s friend, Phoebe Grisbee, did. But a patent medicine, even if it included herbs, was quite another matter.
“Where did you get this patent medicine, Mrs. Swaybill?” Cherry asked. Mrs. Swaybill hesitated. Cherry pressed her.
“I bought it from an old door-to-door pedlar. He lives around here somewhere. In a shack in the woods, near Muir, I heard. Oh, I can see from the look on your face, Miss Cherry, that you don’t think much of these cure-alls! But we’ve all been buying odds and ends from Old Snell for years, aspirin and show laces and vanilla, and herbs and berries in season, and we trust him.”
Cherry recalled seeing a shabby old man selling from a basket at the Swaybill’s door. She asked Mrs. Swaybill what the patent remedy was like.
“It’s a smelly liquid. Nature’s Herb Care is the name. I wish you wouldn’t ask questions about it.” Cherry inquired why not. “Well, Old Snell asked us to keep quiet. As a friendly favor. Seems this remedy is brand new, and he has only a small amount of it to sell to his steady custome
rs, and he didn’t want to offend any other folks who’d ask to buy it if they heard about it.”
“I don’t like the sound of all this,” Cherry said.
“Well, Old Snell was a mite uneasy about selling a new product,” Mrs. Swaybill admitted. “But I tell you, the stuff is real good! I tried a little bit of it a couple of weeks ago for my weak spells, and it perked me right up! Why, I was so pleased with it, I sent Old Snell to sell some to my cousins across the river, in Missouri. Here’s the jar if you want to see it.”
Cherry took the jar from Amy Swaybill and studied the printed label. It made claims too numerous and too extreme for Cherry to believe. Its directions for use were crude. The label listed the ingredients only as “natural herbs and preservatives.” It gave the manufacturer’s name and address as “Natures Herb Co., Flushing, Iowa.” Cherry asked about that.
“Land’s sakes, I don’t know the company that makes it,” Mrs. Swaybill said.
“Hmm.” Cherry remembered Dr. Hal wanted a sample. “May I keep this jar?”
“Surely, if you like. There are only a couple tablespoonfuls left. But you won’t get me or Old Snell in trouble, will you? He’s only a poor old man trying to make a living. And—and it’s helped my cousins in Missouri, too!”
Cherry reported this conversation to Dr. Hal, at her office on Friday evening, and turned the sample over to him.
“So this is what they took,” Dr. Hal said. “If only people would consult a doctor, and promptly! If only they wouldn’t think they can diagnose their ailments and prescribe for themselves. The claims on the label are fantastic. Listen to this—in fine print.” Hal read aloud: “Cures arthritis, flu, cancer, tuberculosis, falling hair, tiredness—” The young doctor added ironically, “And just about everything that afflicts the human race.”
“I never heard of this preparation, did you?” Cherry asked.
Dr. Hal shook his head. “I’ll bet you this is the troublemaker. I think we ought to report it to the Food and Drug Administration.”
“I thought of that, too,” Cherry said.
They discussed what they had better do. Iowa maintained several health agencies to protect its population. However, the pedlar had sold the remedy also to Mrs. Swaybill’s cousins in Missouri; that constituted interstate commerce and made it a matter for the United States Food and Drug Administration, operating under the Federal Pure Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The job of FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, was to stop the manufacture and distribution of medicines, medical devices, foods, and cosmetics that were unhealthy or impure or worthless or misbranded. FDA could take violators into the federal courts, where they would be liable for heavy fines and jail sentences. FDA thus protected the population against harming themselves.
Honest and responsible manufacturers cooperated with the Food and Drug Administration, checking their new products and label directions with the FDA experts before offering them to the public. But not all manufacturers were honest. That was why the FDA had to be a scientific crime-detection agency. Anyone, a doctor or a druggist or a private citizen, if he had serious doubts about a product, could report it to the FDA. Their inspectors were at work all over the United States, and FDA had branch offices in many cities.
“The branch nearest us,” Dr. Hal said, “is in Des Moines. But I wonder whether we oughtn’t notify the state health authorities first?”
“I’ll notify Miss Hudson, too,” Cherry said. “When are you going to report this awful ‘remedy’?”
“Right now,” Dr. Hal said, and picked up the telephone. He told the operator that he wanted to put through a call to the State Department of Health in Des Moines. “I know the offices close at five or five thirty, Operator,” Dr. Hal said, “but there’s probably an emergency line always open.”
He and Cherry waited while the call to the state capitol went through. It took several minutes. Finally Dr. Hal reached someone, for he said:
“Hello! This is Dr. Hal Miller, county doctor at Sauk, and I want to report a suspicious new medicine.” He listened for a while, then said, “Oh. Well, I’m not surprised, I’m calling so late in the day, and now it’s the weekend. Yes, I’ll call again tomorrow morning. … No, I don’t know too much about this medicine.… No, I don’t know as much as that, not yet.…” He listened again. “That’s a good idea. Will do.” After another pause, he said, “Thanks very much,” and hung up.
“What’s ‘a good idea’?” Cherry asked.
“Well, you heard that I’m to call back and try to reach the appropriate health officers. The man who talked to me suggested that until a contact can be set up, we get all the information we can about this remedy. Who makes it and where, and what goes into it. Of course they’ll make the investigation, but anything we can tell them will save them a lot of time and get this remedy off the market that much faster.”
“I see,” Cherry said. “What do you want to do with this jar of the remedy, Doctor?”
“I’ll keep it. It’s evidence to hand over to the health authorities.” Dr. Hal picked up the jar as gingerly as if it contained dynamite. “Cherry, I’d like you to be present when I telephone again tomorrow morning. There might be some questions I couldn’t answer, but you could.”
“I’ll be back here first thing tomorrow morning,” Cherry said, “Saturday or no Saturday.”
“Good. Now I’ll walk you home.”
CHAPTER VI
Medical Detective Work
ON SATURDAY MORNING HAL AND CHERRY MET IN THE county health office at nine o’clock. Hal got on the telephone and stayed there. He held the phone so that Cherry could listen, too.
Hal had difficulty, because it was the weekend, in reaching the state health people in Des Moines. He did reach one office and reported the harmful medicine, but was told:
“That’s a situation for our State Department of Pharmacy and Narcotics to handle, Dr. Miller. Hold on while I put your call through to them.”
A woman secretary answered, and listened while Hal again stated his case. The woman said:
“The person for you to get in touch with is Mr. Henderson, the Director of the Department of Pharmacy and Narcotics. I’m not sure whether I can locate him for you on a Saturday. Let me try, and I’ll call you back within an hour.”
Cherry and Hal worked with their patients’ case records, but even so, the time dragged. At ten o’clock the telephone rang. Hal answered it. The operator said, “Des Moines calling Dr. Miller.”
“Hello?” Hal said expectantly. “Mr. Henderson?”
“No, sir, it’s the secretary again. I’ve learned that Mr. Henderson has gone out of town on an inspection trip, and will be home late today. I can give you his home telephone number, if you like.”
“Yes, I’ll take it,” Dr. Hal said, and wrote it down. “Thanks. I’ll call late this afternoon.” He hung up and said to Cherry: “Delays. Can’t be helped on a weekend, I suppose.” He thought for a minute. “You know, Cherry, the State Department of Health man last evening asked me to get all the information I could about this remedy. While we’re waiting to reach Mr. Henderson, why don’t we ask a laboratory to analyze this concoction?”
“What lab have you in mind?” Cherry asked.
“The hospital lab in Iowa City. Are you free to drive upstate with me? Right away?”
Cherry nodded. Dr. Hal picked up the jar of the remedy that Mrs. Swaybill had given her.
By starting at once and taking short cuts, Dr. Hal and Cherry reached Iowa City by late morning. They parked in front of University Hospital and went directly to its laboratory. Dr. Hal, as a county health officer, knew the chief laboratory technician, Nan Cross, a woman in a starched white coat. He introduced her to Cherry.
“I’m always glad to meet a county nurse,” Miss Cross said. “What can the lab do for you, Doctor?”
Dr. Hal Miller handed her the jar of Nature’s Herb Cure, with the request that she use only a little of it for biochemical analysis and return the rest to him. The technic
ian nodded, poured some into a container, and gave back the jar. Then Dr. Miller described for Miss Cross the symptoms of his flu patients who had “treated” themselves with the doubtful patent medicine. “Of course I’ve reported this concoction to the health authorities,” he said. While he talked, Cherry glanced around the well equipped laboratory.
Here on long tables were racks of test tubes, some frothing, some with frozen materials, microscopes, slides, Petri dishes full of cultures. Near the windows were cages of white mice. In the next room was the blood bank. All of this equipment was familiar to Cherry, for no hospital could function without laboratory technicians. These specialists were highly trained in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry, and performed laboratory tests through which physicians could reach an accurate diagnosis.
“I’ve been treating these special patients not only for flu, but for—Well, the disturbance acted like some kind of poisoning,” Dr. Miller was saying to Miss Cross. “Treatments against poisoning have helped so far. It was only late yesterday that Miss Ames was able to obtain this sample of the cure all.”
“I’ll run tests on white mice,” Miss Cross said. “We’ll study how this patent medicine affects them, since, as you know, mice and men have the same physical makeup. I’ll give the medicine to mice which I’ll infect with flu virus, and I’ll also give it to healthy mice, as a control test.” She added, “It will take a few days for results to develop.”
“This patent medicine produces discomfort fast,” Dr. Miller said. “I urgently need your reports so I’ll be able to prescribe the most effective treatment for patients, and also I’d like to report the results of the tests to the health authorities. Can’t you start the tests right now and let us have an answer by Monday or Tuesday?”
The lab technician bit her lip, figuring. “I’ll speed things up, Doctor. As soon as I have some answers, I’ll phone you or Miss Ames at your county health office.”
