Plague Read Free

day.”
    â€œWill it cure him?” Sam asked. He wished he could see the man’s face.
    â€œIt may, if God wills it,” came the apothecary’s muffled reply.
    Sam went to Master Kemp’s pot of coins in the workshop. He counted out the money to pay the apothecary, dropping the coins into a dish of vinegar on the counter to disinfect them.
    â€œYou know I must notify the authorities?” Master Burton said.
    Sam nodded. His lower lip trembled. “They’ll lock us in, won’t they?”
    â€œYes. I’m sorry.”
    â€œWhat about Alice, our maid? She won’t be back till evening. “
    Master Burton hesitated. “They’ll lether back in… if she asks.” He put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “God be with you, Sam.”
    Soon after Master Burton left, two men came to shut up the house. They worked quickly, nailing closed the downstairs windows and the back door.
    â€œStop!” Sam protested. “Our maid will be back later!” He was trembling. They were going to leave him alone with his sick master. What if Master Kemp got worse? What if he died?
    â€œWe can’t wait. It’s not allowed,” one of them said. “You’ll have a watchman outside, day and night, and he’ll look after you. Do you have a basket, and some twine?”
    Sam nodded.
    â€œTie it to your upper window frame and let it down when you need to bring anything in.”
    The men shut the shop door behind them as they left, and then Sam heard banging and hammering and the rattle of a chain. He was seized with sudden terror. “No! No!” he screamed. “Let me out! Please!” He beat on the door with his fists. He heaved at it, but it would not open. How would Alice ever get back in? By now the men would be marking the door with the dreaded cross and the words, ‘Lord have mercy upon us’. He shouted and hammeredon it with his fists until they were bruised. Then, not knowing what else to do, he sank down on the floor and cried.
    Through his tears he heard a distant barking and scrabbling. Budge! He ran to let the dog out of the storeroom. Budge jumped up at him and wagged his tail.
    â€œOh, Budge!” said Sam. He hugged the dog and buried his face in his fur.

5
Locked In
    For the rest of that day William Kemp burned with a fever. Sam gave him sips of beer and made new hot poultices.
    Even Budge seemed to know that something was wrong. He lay on his master’s bed and guarded him, as if from an invisible enemy.
    Sam longed for Alice to come back. “Where is she?” he asked Budge, strokingthe dog’s ears for comfort. “Master Kemp is getting worse, and I don’t know what to do.”
    Outside, a rough-looking watchman was sitting in the street, a jug of beer at his side. This man would fetch anything Sam needed – food, or medicine. But it was Alice, with her friendly chatter and practical ways, that Sam really wanted.
    A howl from the bed made him rush to his master’s side. William Kemp was clawing at his clothes.
    â€œThe pain!” he gasped. “I can’t bear it!”
    He struggled out of bed and hurled himself around the room, banging his head against the walls.
    â€œMaster! Get back into bed!” begged Sam. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
    He struggled to restrain the sick man.
    â€œPlease!” Sam felt desperate.
    At last he got William Kemp to lie down again. As he untied the neck of his master’s night-shirt to help cool him, Sam saw to his horror that there was a purple rash across the man’s chest. The tokens! He knew that once the tokens appeared, the sufferer did not have long to live.
    Sam began to tremble. “Oh, Budge!” he cried. “Where is Alice? She should be home by now.”
    He ran to the window.

    â€œWatchman!” he called. “Have you seen our maid – Alice?”
    The man shrugged.
    â€œShe was wearing a yellow