The prospect did n't seem to cheer him up as much as I should have expected . Then he did an amazing thing . He poured some cream into a saucer and set it down before William Adolphus . William Adolphus lapped it up , keeping one eye on Alexander Abraham lest the latter should change his mind . Not to be outdone , I handed Mr. Riley a bone . Neither Alexander Abraham nor I had worried much about the smallpox . We did n't believe he would take it , for he had n't even seen the girl who was sick . But the very next morning I heard him calling me from the upstairs landing . `` Miss MacPherson , '' he said in a voice so uncommonly mild that it gave me an uncanny feeling , `` what are the symptoms of smallpox ? '' `` Chills and flushes , pain in the limbs and back , nausea and vomiting , '' I answered promptly , for I had been reading them up in a patent medicine almanac . `` I 've got them all , '' said Alexander Abraham hollowly . I did n't feel as much scared as I should have expected . After enduring a woman hater and a brindled dog and the early disorder of that house -- and coming off best with all three -- smallpox seemed rather insignificant . I went to the window and called to Thomas Wright to send for the doctor . The doctor came down from Alexander Abraham 's room looking grave . `` It 's impossible to pronounce on the disease yet , '' he said . `` There is no certainty until the eruption appears . But , of course , there is every likelihood that it is the smallpox . It is very unfortunate . I am afraid that it will be difficult to get a nurse .
All the nurses XXXXX town who will take smallpox cases are overbusy now , for the epidemic is still raging there .
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