Chapter 9

Shit, shit! SHIT!

It had been two weeks since I was attacked, and I still could not connect to the 'between' or move myself through time. I thought back to the care I had been given in those first days, by Arthur and his wife, Beth. They had taken good care of me, but they kind of smothered me, too. No wonder their kids were forever trying to get away from them! You just never know about people until you live with them. Still, they were good decent people, and I was grateful.

I was pleased, however, when I was well enough to move back to my tent. I now had three guards, full time. The one I had hired was recovering, and would be back on the job soon. Plus, two new ones were constantly on the look out. They rotated all day and all night, making sure I was covered at all times... or my tent was, if I was inside. If I went out, one stayed at camp, and one escorted me.

The local council had made sure word got out. First, I was not working while I was wounded; and second, that I was not going to treat knife fights any longer. There was grumbling, but it was explained. They were told that while I would treat accidents, a multiple stab wound to the chest and stomach in a fight, was not an accident. Everyone was on their own, in that case.

As soon as I could head back to my own time, I was going to do it. I would put my tent, fully erected if need be, into the 'between'. Then I would make the trip back. I was scared and unsure of myself. I really did not want to live in the early 1900's. I wanted to go home to my own time, desperately!

Well, at least I had supplies of food on hand. Plus I had what remained in the temporary warehouse that Arthur was letting me use. Meat might get scarce, but I had cornmeal, flour, sugar, coffee, salt, pepper, a few other spices, and something that made a good 'porridge' or 'oatmeal'. I had access to lots of vegetables. All in all, I was set up much better than most people here. I could last out the winter in fairly good condition, and still have supplies enough to hike out, if need be.

I had several thousand dollars worth of gold on hand, at least, probably more. That would be more than enough to set me up in a comfortable home, somewhere down in 'the states'. There was no way I was going to settle in Alaska, if it came to that. Perhaps I would set up in New York City, or Boston. I knew enough history to know what investments would make money. I would not have to really work for it.

It was depressing me, though. I lay on my cot. I only moved to build the fire if I got cold, or to answer nature's call. I would eat just once, occasionally twice a day, which soon caused me to lose weight.

My guards noticed, as well as Arthur and Beth. I could tell they were worried. It was only with the threat of physically removing me from my tent and back into their home that caused me to get motivated enough to start eating better.

It was the strangest thing that pulled me out of my depression.

Doctors had treated women with certain maladies in this time in a very strange way. One of the woman, married to a miner, came to me seeking a treatment. After some hesitation on her part, and great deal of embarrassment, she explained she wanted me to masturbate her!

I was stunned! She had heard I had gone to medical school. She was sure I knew of this treatment. Oh, she didn't ask me to masturbate her with those words, but she did ask about manipulating her privates as a doctor had done in her hometown, previously. I explained to her that while I knew of this treatment, I really didn't practice it. I thought the patients could handle this aspect of the treatment very well, themselves.

After she was gone, I laughed and laughed until I was almost sick. My sides were splitting, and one of my guards rushed in to see if I was all right. I waved him off, and sat there laughing.

After a short time, I recovered my composure, and cooked myself a large meal. I realized I was feeling very hungry indeed! I thought about her request. It had actually been a valid treatment in this time. Frustrated woman were treated this way by doctors everywhere. I think it was one of the reasons nurses were required to be with patients in my time zone.

Still chuckling off and on, I cooked and ate my meal. Despite a low-grade headache, I went seeking Arthur's company. He was very surprised to see me walk into his office during business hours, and asked if something was wrong. I grinned and told him everything was fine. I said that I was just out getting some air, and decided to stop in and chat, and maybe have some coffee.

He quickly put a fresh pot on, and we set up the checkerboard.

"Now, Arthur, don't go out of your way just to humor me. I can come back later if you're busy. Besides, I know your wife usually has a pot on back in the living section, and I could always impose on her. She said so, after all," I said with a grin.

He grinned back, saying, "You seem to be in good humor, already. What brought on this change?"

"A prospective patient. It was a most unusual case, but I could not help this person. I was able to dispense advice, though," I replied a bit mysteriously.

The days rolled by into weeks, which then rolled into first one month, then two. Every time I tried to access the 'between' or bring something through, or go back to my own time, I was unable to make any connection. I did manage to produce a hell of a headache, though.

I sat and thought about it, right after my latest effort. I had been trying every few days, since I had been attacked. Maybe I just needed to let my brain recover. After all, cause and effect. I tried to use this ability, and the only thing it produced was a damned headache!

So I vowed to let at least two weeks go by without trying anything. I was hoping against hope that the part of my brain that controlled this ability was still recovering, or was stunned in some way. It seemed a logical conclusion to me anyway.

So I waited. It was the most difficult two weeks I had ever spent in my life. Anticipation was driving me to distraction.

I utilized my time by making myself busy. I did inventory on my stock at the temporary warehouse, frequently. It was slowly becoming depleted. I sold for a couple of hours a day, and then locked up. I tired easily, for some reason. I decided I also had to rest more frequently.

During the last part of that two weeks, Arthur received a large shipment of food and supplies. I was again invited over for a nice big home cooked meal, which I enjoyed. With this influx of fresh supplies for his miners, the warehouse was busy. We had to watch for pilfering. I understood why it happened. Desperate people in desperate conditions did what they thought they needed to do, to survive. But it was always on the backs of others. I turned a blind eye when I could, but several people were expelled from the camp, right away. The people had enough to worry about, without thieves.

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