Read The Clouds Beneath the Sun for Free Online

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    “Jonas!” she half shouted when they reached his tent. “Are you there?”
    A short pause, then the flap was pulled back. “Yes—what is it?”
    Natalie turned to Mgina, then back to Jonas.
    “Mgina’s brother has ‘flu,’ she thinks. But he also has spots under his tongue.”
    Jonas looked from Natalie to Mgina and back again. “Anthrax?”
    “He woke up with it the day before yesterday, after a big feast. The meat could have been contaminated.”
    Jonas nodded. “You could be right. How do you know about anthrax?”
    “I saw it on a dig in Israel two years ago. Do we have any penicillin?”
    “Yes, of course, but it’s precious. Where does Mgina’s family live?”
    “The village doesn’t have a name, but it’s five hours’ walk away—ten to twelve miles.”
    “Okay. I’ll get the antibiotics; meet me at the Land Rovers in ten minutes.”
    •   •   •
    “Anthrax?” said Eleanor, helping herself to water from the jug, as Mutevu Ndekei began serving dinner—lamb chops. “That can be serious, right?”
    “Oh, yes,” said Jonas. “If you don’t catch it in the first couple of days, the patient can be dead inside a week.”
    “Nasty,” said Eleanor with a shudder. “And how do you catch such a disease?”
    “It varies. Through an open wound, from someone else who has it … in this case by eating contaminated meat.”
    “And penicillin cures it?”
    Jefferson nodded. “I’ll be driving over to see the boy again tomorrow.” He looked across to Natalie and smiled.
    “You saved the boy’s life,” said Eleanor, addressing Natalie. “How do you know so much about disease?”
    Natalie was helping herself to chops. “As I told Jonas, I was on a dig in Israel, with Ira Ben-Osman, two years ago. There was an outbreak among the local Palestinians. Three died but we managed to save another fifteen. They had all eaten contaminated meat.”
    The business with Mgina and Mgina’s brother had been quite an episode. Natalie didn’t feel as though she had saved someone’s life, but the boy—when they had reached him—obviously didn’t have flu. He was vomiting blood and had severe abdominal pains and a fever. It was right that they had gone when they had. Mgina’s family had clearly been worried—their traditional herbal remedies were not working. Of course, the penicillin hadn’t produced any immediate effect, so the family had still been anxious when Jonas and Natalie had left. They had done their best to reassure Odnate’s parents but had not wholly succeeded. Hopefully, tomorrow would bring better news.
    The lamb had reached Eleanor. She inspected it doubtfully. “How can you tell if meat is contaminated?”
    “It’s not easy,” said Jonas. “Animals that have anthrax collapse, so they mustn’t be used for food, which is probably what happened in this case. If the spores are dense enough, you can see them with the naked eye—they are gray-white and resemble ground glass.”
    Eleanor picked up the chop in her fingers and turned it over. “Hmmm. Did anyone else in the village contract the disease?”
    “Not so far as I could see,” replied Jonas. “Odnate was the youngest at the feast, with the least resistance. If the animal they were eating was not badly infected, and well roasted … he was unlucky.”
    Eleanor nodded. “So is the boy out of the woods?”
    “Not necessarily. His family must be disciplined and give him the full course of antibiotics.”
    “Is that going to leave us short? You know, in case we have an accident here?”
    Jonas shook his head. “We’re fine, unless we have our own epidemic. But next time anyone goes to Nairobi, they should top up our supplies.”
    Eleanor nodded again. “If I talk to Jack, I’ll mention it. I’m not sure when he’s planning to come. He’s on some political committee in Nairobi.”
    She sat up and her gaze took in Natalie and Jonas. “Well, I’m glad you two could help. Anything that brings blacks and