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His eyes were slowly growing accustoh froiving suck to the child He could hear the s here?" he asked, though he kneell enough His stoht, and not just because of the foul ses He squatted next to her, barely able to fit in the tiny space

"I’oodness ye see that?"

"Is the child sick?"

"No!" She hunched herself over the baby, squiret

"Then--"

"It’s no but a wee rash! All bairns get them, my mither said so!" He could hear the fear in her voice, underneath the furious denial

"Are you sure?" he said, as gently as he could He reached a tentative hand toward the dark blotch she held

She struck at him, aardly one-handed, and he jerked back with a hiss of pain

"Jesus! Ye stabbed me!"

"Stay back! I’ve my husband’s dirk," she warned "I won’t let ye take him, I’ll kill ye first, I swear I will!"

He believed her Hand to his mouth, he could taste his own blood, sweet and salt on his tongue It was no more than a scratch, but he believed her She’d kill hireat deal ht She orth ed on deck and forced to watch as her child was torn out of her arms and thrown into the sea He reed the ship, and shuddered with a cold that had nothing to do with the dank surroundings

"I won’t take him But if it’s the pox--"

"It’s not! I swear to Bride, it’s not!" A sripped him by the sleeve "It’s as I tell ye, it’s no but a milk rash, I’ve seen it, man--a hundred tih when a bairn’s sick and when he’s but teething!"

He hesitated, then , and the child had smallpox, she was likely already infected; to return her to the hold would be only to spread the disease And if she was right--he kneell as she that it didn’t ht

He could feel her quivering, on the brink of hysteria He wanted to touch her in reassurance, but thought better of it She wouldn’t trust hiive you away," he whispered

He was met by suspicious silence

"You need food, don’t you? And fresh water You’ll have no milk soon, without it, and then what of the bairn?"

He could hear her breathing, ragged and phlegers coughed and wheezed--the das early on

"Show him to me"

"No!" Her eyes shone in the dark, fearful as a cornered rat’s, and the edge of her lip lifted over small white teeth

"I swear I will not take hih"

"What will ye swear on?"

He groped his ave up and said as in his mind

"On my ooman’s life," he said, "and on the heads of my unborn sons"

He could feel doubt, and then a sainst his legin the chains nearby Real rats this time

"I canna leave him here alone while I steal food" He saw the faint tilt of her head toward the noise "They’ll eat him alive; they’ve bitten me in my sleep already, the filthy vermin"

He reached out his hands, conscious all the time of the sounds from the deck above It wasn’t likely that anyone would co before he was missed above?