Molasses Men by Robert Reynolds

Author:Robert Reynolds
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robert Reynolds
Published: 2021-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

PART 4

With the rain being as it was, the men found themselves confined to camp for days. It was not that they could not leave; it was that they had no way to get to their destinations; those who did found it next to impossible to get back to camp. Furthermore, the frozen mornings, the dampness, and the ailments they were succumbing too were taking their toll. Colds and viruses spread around the camp at will, many of the young men falling victim. It did not help that Cookie had taken ill, but kept working until ordered not to.

“What you’ve got is contagious,” Doc said. “You stay away from the kitchen so you don’t be spreading it worse than it already is.”

“But Doc..,” Cookie pleaded. “Who’s gonna feed these boys?”

“I’ve tasted your cooking,” Doc said, “and they might just be better off without it.”

“I don’t see you backing away from seconds,” Cookie said, his feelings hurt.

“That just might explain these ulcers I’ve been having,” Doc said. “Now you stay away for a few days until you’re over this ailment and I just might try your cooking again.”

Cookie, having come down with the chills, meant the able-bodied had to fend for themselves in the mess hall. Working off Cookie’s paper recipe cards, the men made a brave attempt at preparing meals, but no one was about to receive compliments for his culinary skills. The roads, being as they were, kept fresh stores from being brought to the camp and so the men made do with what they had.

“I’d complain about this gruel,” Charlie said, “but I made it.”

“It’s certainly an unusual hue,” Johnny Little said. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen food this color before.”

“The color’s the best part of it,” Bill Potts said, dumping his tray in the waste. “Maybe the canteen’s still open and I can find something my belly won’t reject.”

***

“I think I have a fever,” Ibrahim said, holding the back of his hand to his forehead when he awoke the next morning.

“If you didn’t have it, you’d be the only one,” Benjamin said.

“Feel my forehead,” Ibrahim said.

“Stay away from me,” Benjamin warned. “I’ve plans for the weekend and whatever you have; I don’t want any part of.”

However, by midday, Benjamin had begun to feel ill, too, so he stopped by the dispensary after lunch.

“My chest is tight, Doc. I feel like I can hardly breathe,” he said.

“You’re coming down with that bug that half the men in camp have and those that don’t have it now, will have it by next week,” Doc said. “I can give you medicine or you can take any old home remedy you want, but I’ll tell you this, you’re going to have it until it runs its course. There’s no two ways about it.”

He spent much of the afternoon carting materials for the men fixing leaks in the roof of the Administrative building. It was wet and cold and he was up and down the ladders a dozen times. By the

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