Free The Boneshaker by Kate Milford Page B

and covered in cobwebs, from the edge of the loft. "You can do it in no time on that Chesterlane, I bet."
    Natalie walked. It was such a short distance anyway, practically across the street ... silly to ride a bicycle, really. Still, she continued to mutter "Chesterlane Eidolon, Chesterlane Eidolon" to herself as she walked down Bard toward Mr. Finch's shop.
    Mr. Tilden from the general store was walking up the pharmacy steps when Natalie crossed the street. She caught the door just before it banged shut and slipped through behind him.
    "Lester. Got a telephone call from Pinnacle. Some good news, finally."
    The pharmacist stood behind the counter with his back turned, singing along to a ragtime record, but the tone of Mr. Tilden's voice would've made anyone stop and pay attention. Mr. Tilden clearly hadn't noticed Natalie come in after him. She could have turned politely away or even stepped back onto the porch, but something made her slip out of sight around the far side of a huge dispensing cabinet full of boxes and jars.
    At the counter Mr. Finch chuckled as he turned down the music and clapped Mr. Tilden on the back. "Well, at least Doc got to take the old Winton out for another trip. He won't mind so much if there's nothing for him to do."
    If there was nothing for Doc to do in Pinnacle, the flu must have stopped spreading. She leaned a little closer. The pharmacist was still talking.
    "...take a lot off of everyone's minds. Shall we put up signs?"
    "Not yet." Mr. Tilden's voice was so sharp that Natalie jumped back. "Not until the hucksters leave town. Can you imagine if we announce that the flu's burned itself out the day before they open up shop? Whether they even came through Pinnacle or not, they'll take credit for it."
    "I guess it can't hurt to wait until they're gone to make an announcement." A momentary pause. When Mr. Finch spoke again, his voice was quieter. "I met them on their way into town. Something about those folks puts me on edge, Ed. They put hairs up on my neck."
    Hidden in her corner, Natalie nodded in agreement. Mr. Tilden must've been doing the same, because the next words he said were, "I hate to say this, because I never like the way other people mean it when they say it, but I have to tell you, Lester, I just don't like the looks of them. I don't like the way they
seem.
"
    Which made perfect sense. Miranda, for instance, said once that she didn't like Old Tom's looks, but that was just snobbishness because he was old and poor and threadbare. Even Doc Fitzwater, with his monocle and alligator cane and his face like cracked desert earth,
looked
strange, but nothing about Doc put hairs up on your neck.
    Something about Dr. Limberleg and his crew wasn't quite right.
    The door jangled open, and Natalie flattened herself against the cabinet. Skirts swished.
    "Afternoon, Miss Albert," Mr. Finch called to the swishing lady.
    Natalie peeked around the cabinet. No one was facing the door. She crept out of her corner into plain view and pretended to read a big framed document on the wall by the door while she waited to be noticed.
    The words printed on the old-fashioned brown paper looked official, like a university diploma, HIPPOCRATIC OATH, it said at the top. For a moment Natalie forgot the discussion she had overheard and tried to work out what
Hippocratic
meant, and whether it had anything to do with hippopotamuses, and why on earth anyone would involve them in any sort of oath. The beginning line didn't help much:
First, do no harm.
    "Natalie!" Mr. Finch's voice brought her back to attention. "When did you come in?"
    "Right after Miss Albert," she lied.
    The two men exchanged a look. Natalie could tell that they were disturbed to see her appear out of nowhere. She thought hard, and then, for lack of anything better to do, pointed to the wall.
    "What's
Hippocratic
mean?"
    It worked. Miss Albert laughed, and the two men exchanged another look, this time one of relief.
    "What can I do for you, Natalie?"