Watching the girl go with an annoyedly knowing expression, which he knew was lost on Ralph, Doc said, ‘We’ll be moving along right after breakfast, from what I hear. You should get something to eat, and be packed and ready to go.’
‘The neighbours made it out okay, I see,’ said Ralph. ‘But who are those other people?’
‘Various assorted relatives and close acquaintances; the people living near Pran’s home who managed to escape,’ Doc replied. ‘We didn’t see them before because they were searching the Eastland Waik area for survivors, before they were ordered out of there for their own good.’
‘How’re Deborah and Theuli?’ Ralph asked. ‘I thought that was you over by the wagon a little while ago.’
‘Theuli’s on the mend,’ Doc told him.
‘And Deborah?’ Doc’s worried look, so seldom seen, made Ralph go cold inside.
‘She’s still pretty much out of it.’ Then, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself as much as Ralph, he said, ‘She’s going to be one very sick young woman for a week or two. Maybe longer. In any event, she’s not getting any worse, so I’m taking that as a good sign, for now.’