In late summer, Ma, Laura, and Mary spend time in the creek bottoms so Ma can pick blackberries to dry for the winter. Laura and Mary begin to feel feverish and lethargic, and Pa and Ma quickly fall ill too. Before long, the entire family is sick in bed, and Laura passes in and out of a feverish delirium. She wakes up once to find Mary begging for a drink of water, and Pa and Ma so sick that they can’t get up. Laura struggles across the room to get Mary a ladleful of water, then falls back into bed. Eventually, she sees a black man standing over her, giving her a medicinal powder, and she is able to rest after that. She wakes up, weak but not as feverish, to find a neighbor woman, Mrs. Scott, in the house taking care of the family. She takes care of them until they’re healthy enough to get out of bed. She says that the black man’s name is Dr. Tan and that he takes care of the resident Native Americans. He was passing by when Jack waylaid him, dragging him into the house to reveal the sick family.