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"You know," Claire said, running a hand through her hair as she looked thoughtfully at Jeest this, but do you think?"

"Shi--Ito nored her, concentrating on the job of inserting the surgical clamp into his left nostril "There were crumbs of dried plant matter stuck to the honey around his mouth, but surely that was just rosemary or thyme"

Offended at the close scrutiny, he tried to whack her with the cla the clarasp with her other hand

"Don’t hit Mummy," she said automatically, "it’s not nice Jem--did you s Grannie’s rock?"

"No," he said, just as auto at the cla hile, but couldn’t be sure She didn’t think it was roseh

"Co up "I can’t tell"

Claire stooped to oblige, and Jearander," then leaned in for a closer look, seizing a da howls of protest

"Look" Claire pointed at the soft skin around his mouth Freshly cleansed, Brianna could see them clearly--two or three tiny blisters, like seed pearls

"Jere to look him in the eye "Tell Muaze and wriggled away, putting both hands protectively behind hi to spank you," she assured hi foot "I just want to know Did you s a rock about this big?" She held up thuled

"Hot," he said That was his new favorite word, applied without distinction to any object he liked

Brianna closed her eyes, sighing in exasperation, then opened them to look at her mother

"I’m afraid so Will it hurt hihtfully, tapping a finger against her lips Then she crossed the rooe brown-glass bottle

"Castor-bean oil," she explained, ru in a drawer for a spoon "Not quite as tasty as honey," she added, fixing Jeimlet eye, "but very effective"

CASTOR OIL MIGHT BE EFFECTIVE, but it took a while Keeping a close eye on Jemmy, as set down to play with his basket of wooden blocks after being dosed, Brianna and Claire used the waiting tiery, and then turned to the peaceful, but ti medicines It was some tiering profusion of leaves and roots and seeds to be shredded, grated, pounded, boiled in water, steeped in oil, extracted with alcohol, strained through gauze, stirred into round talc or rolled into pills, then jarred or bottled or bagged for preservation

It was a pleasantly warm day, and they left the s open for the breeze, even though thisthe occasional enthusiastic bu solution

"Be careful, sweetie!" Brianna reached hastily to brush away a honeybee that had lighted on one of Je Ouchie!"

"They s away another "I’d better give them some of it back" She set a bowl of honey-water on the sill, and within reedily

"Single- a trickle of sweat that ran between her brsts

"Well, single- way," Claire htly as she stirred a solution war over an alcohol lamp "Does this look done to you?"

"You know a lot better than I do" Still, she bent obligingly and sniffed "I think so; it ser into the bowl, then tasted it

"M the bowl off the flaauze strainer into a bottle Several other tall glass bottles stood in a row on the counter, the sunlight glowing through their contents like red and green and yellow gems

"Did you always know you were meant to be a doctor?" Brianna asked curiously Her wood bark with a sharp knife