“Constipation?”
For the first time he could remember, he had no urgency in his bowel. “Yes.”
“You certainly do have rat bite fever. It always tightens up the tract. My fear is that it will go to the lining of your heart.” The doctor placed a small bottle on a bedside table. “Here are some analgesic tablets. It’s all I can do. Nothing else is available with the liberation in place. Have someone get you some water and take three of these twice a day. You need to rest until the fever passes, and we hope without damage to the heart.”
“All right,” Moldenke said.
“Make him some kind of broth,” the doctor said.
Salmonella squeezed one of Moldenke’s bare toes. “We’ll take care of him,” she said, “till he’s completely better.”
Gus clasped his rough hands in prayer and bowed his head.
“He’s praying to Godboy,” Salmonella said. “They think he’s come to save them.”