Free The Marshal Takes A Bride by Sylvia McDaniel Page B

she said nervously.
    Sarah gave the woman a few moments before she went in to see her new patient. She walked in and tried to be quick about looking at the woman’s legs and groin area.
    “You have a fungus that is transmitted sexually,” Sarah told the woman. “I’ll give you a jar of cream, and you will need to apply it twice a day until the rash disappears.”
    The woman breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “I was so afraid. I feared I’d gotten the clap.”
    “You know, in your occupation, you run a very high risk of catching a disease,” Sarah said, trying not to sound judgmental.
    “Yes, but a girl’s gotta earn a living, and I don’t know any other way.”
    Sarah nodded in understanding, not wanting to alienate the woman. “I understand. Why don’t you get dressed and then we can talk some more.”
    She left the woman to dress and found the cream in the doctor’s drug cabinet. She also opened her own medical bag and reached inside for a condom.
    When the woman came out, Sarah handed her the cream and then showed her the sheepskin. “This is a condom. You put it over a man’s erect penis and it protects you and him from catching a disease. It also will help keep you from getting pregnant, though it’s not foolproof.”
    “What is it?” the woman asked.
    “It’s the dried gut of a sheep, and you can reuse it.”
    “Oh! But will my customers agree to use it?” she questioned.
    “If you’re honest and tell them that it protects them from catching a disease from you, why wouldn’t they?”
    “I don’t think they want to hear me talking about the clap when they’re paying me for sex,” she said.
    “Then, just slip it on them before they enter you,” Sarah suggested. “Make it fun and in the end they’ll thank you for it.”
    The woman reached out and took the condom from her. She let her fingers run over the soft skin. “This will keep me from catching a kid?”
    “It will help,” Sarah said. “Rinse it with soap and water after every use. And when you need another one, come see me. I’ll be here for two months.”
    The woman glanced up from the skin she held in her hand. “Thank you.”
    Sarah smiled. “You’re welcome. Now, come back and see me if the cream doesn’t clear up the red patches.”
    “You know, most people don’t want to have anything to do with women like me. Even Doc Wilson wouldn’t help us, ’less he just had to.”
    “I’m a healer. If this condom helps keep you from getting sick, then I’ve done my job. You tell the other women, I’m here for the next two months, and I’ll be happy to help anyone.”
    The woman nodded. “By the way, I’m called Buckskin Sue.”
    “Nice to meet you, Sue.”
    She took the cream and put it in her reticule, then took out a few coins and handed them to Sarah.
    “Is this enough?”
    “That will do. Come back to see me before I leave, Sue.”
    “Thanks, Doc, I will.” The woman stepped out the door.
    Sarah watched her from the window walking down the street until she noticed a small figure in pants, with a straw hat, standing at the edge of the house. She walked outside to where she could get a better look at the boy and see what he needed.
    He backed into the shadow of a tall cedar bush and slinked around the comer of the house. Sarah followed, suddenly curious about what the lad was doing.
    She slowly moved around the comer of the house to a small shed where he huddled in the darkness, hiding.
    “Please don’t be afraid,” she called. “Come out and talk to me.”
    The small figure came into the light, but all Sarah could see was the top of the hat and the white shirt and pants. When the boy raised his head, she stared into the battered and bruised face of a young Chinese girl.
    She almost gasped at the sight of the poor girl’s bruised and swollen face, but managed to restrain her outcry.
    “Hello,” she said, trying to recover from the surprise that it was a girl and she was so badly beaten. “Can I help