is wrong.”
In between broken sobs, Leung Kum Ching said, “My sister is dying. Our owners left her on the street to die. They say she has the plague, but she doesn’t have all the symptoms.”
Dolly met Ah Cheng’s doubtful look over the girl’s head. “Ask her how long her sister’s been sick.”
Ah Cheng asked the question, and Leung held up two fingers. “Two days. She will die if you do not come.”
Dolly didn’t need to know why Leung had come to the mission home for help. She could only assume that the Chinese healers were afraid the girl was sick with the plague, and therefore would have nothing to do with her. Quarantines were in effect in most of Chinatown’s neighborhoods. It broke Dolly’s heart to know that anyone sick would be left outside to die.
Bodies had been reported hidden all over the city because people feared their homes being quarantined. Immunizations had been sent from the U.S. Surgeon General in Washington, D.C., but Chinese superstitions about being stuck with a needle they believed contained poison stopped most of them from getting immunized. Besides, some of the early vaccinations had caused several side effects, including fevers, pain, and even death.
Now, Dolly could see the hesitation in Ah Cheng’s eyes.
“We must go,” Dolly said in a quiet voice. “It doesn’t sound like the plague, so maybe we can help her.”
Ah Cheng pursed her lips, but she nodded all the same.
Dolly grasped the young girl’s hand, then told Ah Cheng, “Ask her on which street we’ll find her sister.”
Dolly couldn’t conceal her height, but she brought a cotton umbrella and dressed in dark colors to be less conspicuous as the late afternoon light settled over the city, throwing orange-gold patterns on the walls of the buildings.
With another staff member feeding Leung, Dolly and Ah Cheng headed down Sacramento Street and turned on Sutter. The location given to them was in the heart of Chinatown, and Dolly knew she would have to be creative to get around the barriers. But when she reached the next street, she stopped. New barricades had been set up, and guards were stationed in front of them.
Without clearance from the Board of Health, Dolly couldn’t get past them, especially to fetch a sick girl. She turned to Ah Cheng, and the woman nodded, already knowing what Dolly was thinking.
The pair of them hurried in the opposite direction, not meeting anyone’s eyes as they traveled, until they reached an herbal shop run by a man whom Dolly knew. His wife used to live at the mission home.
When the herbalist opened his door, Ah Cheng quickly explained what they needed.
He asked a few questions about the symptoms they’d been told about by Leung. Then he waved them inside. “You can go up here.” He pointed to an opening in the roof that let in light from the sky.
Dolly looked up at the skylight. It would have to do.
The herbalist brought over a stool, and, with a boost from Ah Cheng, Dolly climbed through the skylight and arrived on the roof. When Ah Cheng joined her, they thanked the herbalist and said they hoped to return soon.
He nodded, and then Dolly scanned the rooftops of Chinatown, determining where they needed to go. “Come,” she told Ah Cheng.
The interpreter kept up as they scurried along the rooftops and leapt from one building to another. Fortunately, the housing was so congested that leaping from house to house wasn’t too hard.
But as they neared the neighborhood, they would have to find a place to jump down. Dolly eyed their choices and finally settled on a narrow alley. Its walls were made of protruding bricks, and Dolly knew she could use them to scale down until she could jump to the ground. How would she return this way with a sick little girl, though?
“Over here.” Ah Cheng pointed to a skylight on the next rooftop over.
Dolly followed. The women pried up the skylight and descended into a shop. No one was about, and they unlocked the door from the inside, then slipped into an alley.
The alley was bathed in twilight shadows, and Dolly had to ignore the hairs standing up on her neck. No place was safe for women after dark in Chinatown. But it was too late to seek the help of the police. Besides, not even the squad members most loyal to her cause wanted to risk exposure to the plague.
Without a word, Dolly led the way through the alley until they connected