Chapter 6 - Page 73 - Rhasha's Bed

   Jim rushed to the door to see what the problem was. When he turned the door knob, the door wouldn’t open. He looked down to see if it was locked. Someone had inadvertently turned the lock lever to the down position. He pushed the lever up and opened the door.

   Standing at the door was a tall, slender, black man. A young black woman and two children lay on the hospital porch. Jim could see they were in a poor state of health. They were in the same condition Rhasha had been in when she was brought to the hospital. Flies irritated the open sores on their skin.

   Several other people were standing on the ground, waiting to see what Jim would do. It was obvious that the woman and two children would be the hospital’s next patients.

   “Man,” the tall, slender man at the door said in a deep, gruff voice with a distinct African accent, “we heard you help people.”

   By this time, Pepper was standing behind Jim, looking around his shoulder. “Nurse,” Jim said, “let’s get them in beds.”

   Pepper rushed to the office to get a stretcher. Jim and the slender black man carried the children in and laid them on separate beds. The nurse returned to the porch with the stretcher. She rolled the young woman on her side and slid the stretcher close to her back. With the stretcher in place, Pepper rolled the woman back to her original position, so the young mother was laying on top of the stretcher. The slender black man picked up one end of the stretcher as Jim picked up the other end. They carried the woman into the hospital and eased her off the stretcher and onto the fourth bed.