Chapter Nine Summary

Stephen returns from his excursion upon the Sinon with numerous samples of the flora and fauna. He tells Jack about his adventures with Square and then undertakes to write it all down. But he finds that he is feeling off color and has no energy to write, and even his coca leaves cannot boast his energy levels. He takes his temperature and discovers he is running a slight fever. He consults with his assistant physician William Smith and they determine that Stephen may have a case of yellow fever, a very dangerous illness that has afflicted several of the raiders who went ashore at Freetown as well as a number of the liberated slaves. Stephen is lacking the swelling of the head and the anxiety that often accompanies the fever. Smith sees this as a hopefully sign, but Stephen wonders if his use of coca...