“Suske, I got my new electronic pad this week,” Syp spoke quickly, trying to distract the Westras. “Do you have any games that you’d recommend?”

“Oh, yes! I played mine so much this week that I got in trouble. I used up all my playtime in three days. Mom got so mad at me! Go get it!” Suske urged. “I’ll show you what I’ve been playing. It’s addictive,” she laughed. Suske followed Syp to the bedroom. “What’s all this?” she looked over the collection of items on the floor. “Are you going camping?”

“We are! Eiske told me he’d take me camping and teach me how to fish.”

“Lucky you,” Suske said jealously. “I’ve always wanted to do that. Dad and Sibe go off to the lakes once a month or so. They catch white fish that are about this big and Mom fries them up in butter. I get left behind. I help Mom a lot with Janne and Jarmke. Mom’s expecting a baby. She’s tired a lot.”

“You’re probably a great help to her. I’ve never been around a baby.”

While the children played with the electronic pad, the adults talked about the bull and the fact that Gylbert used it as a stud. He, his brother Jolmer, and Sibe, his son, had been moving it to the pen so that it could be placed on an animal transport. It was being moved to the Annema Dairy Farm. Lute Annema had forty dairy cows that would be bred.

Gylbert followed Eiske into the treatment room a short time later. Eiske checked the electronic monitors over the bed, then gently woke Sibe. The youngster groaned. “Sue. Where are you, Sue?" Sibe looked at Gylbert. “Dad, she saved my life. I was sure Brutus was going to kill me. She pushed me under the fence and crawled under it to pull me out.”

“Sibe, I need you to stay calm. Dr. Bonnema did a surgery. He’s fixed your shoulder. You’re alright. It’s going to be alright. You were very lucky.”

“Dad, are you okay? You were trapped against the barn.”

“I’m fine, son. Sleep now.”

Assured that Sibe was going to be okay, Gylbert and Suske went home. During the afternoon, Eiske treated one child for bee stings, another for a fractured arm, and a third that had an earache. Eiske monitored Sibe between patients. That evening, Eiske was in and out of the medical area. He searched through his books for articles on the Stafriez and put them on the table for Syp. There were several accounts of Stafriez who had served as mediators between the Aphyxian people and other humans who had escaped a Terran planet in a nearby solar system. Syp memorized the pictures so that it could identify a Stafriez when it encountered one. Syp played the game that Suske had shown it for a bit but didn’t understand how anyone could play it for long. It was repetitive and annoying.

“I’m sleeping on the cot next to Sibe,” Eiske told Syp at bedtime. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Syp went to bed, and during the night when it got up to use the toilet, went quietly into the medical area to check on Sibe and Eiske. Both were sleeping soundly, so Syp went back to bed. Sandaag went quietly by, as Eiske tended to Sibe and Syp erected the tent near Eiske’s house. Syp started a fire and for the evening meal cooked a soup of vegetables and herbs.

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It carried the kettle inside to Eiske. He thought it was pretty good for a first try cooking over a fire and took Sibe a bowlful. At bedtime, Eiske lay down again at Sibe’s side. He had asked Syp to sleep inside; he didn’t want to be thinking about its safety when he needed to focus on Sibe.

Maandag morning, Gylbert came back to see how Sibe was doing. Sibe was sitting in Eiske’s eating room, eating fried eggs, bacon, and toast. He rose to his feet when his dad came through the door. When Sibe finished his meal, Eiske took him into the medical area for a final examination. Gylbert watched as Eiske made notes of Sibe’s treatment. They listened solemnly to the doctor’s instructions for his recovery. “I’ll come back to pay you for your services, Eiske. I want to take Sibe home so he can rest and do his studies. We don’t want him to fall behind.” Eiske was agreeable to this, and the father and son went home.

“I need to decontaminate the medical area this morning,” Eiske told Syp. “This afternoon I’ll decide on the crop rotation and order seed. Would you like to go to the village for lunch?”

“Isn’t that expensive?” Syp asked.

“It’s not much more expensive than eating at home. I don’t have to take the time to prepare the food and clean up. I can use that time in better ways.” Syp was puzzled by this. “When I’m in town, I’ll stop at the community information center and download the most recent medical updates. It takes time to study and learn everything that is made available to doctors. There’s a flow of off-worlders in and out. When they have accidents, I get called.”

“Off-worlders?” Syp echoed. “Why are they coming here? I thought they mostly lived in the cities.”

“Some do. Others come to raise families and crops. Zuphreon is a relatively safe planet. A good part of it has been mapped. Most of the wild animals have been identified and residents know where they live, so they stay clear of certain areas.”

Syp thought about what its uncle had said as it did the morning chores around the house. When it was finished it went outside. The snow had been slowly melting. As Syp walked around Eiske’s house, it located the plants that Siedeske had grown. It was looking at a big leafy bush when Eiske found it shortly before noon. “What are you thinking about, Syp?”

“I’m thinking about my future, and how I can support myself. I’m very interested in plants and which are edible and good for us. I had hoped to learn the properties of all the medicinal plants that Grandma Bron grew, but then she died.”

“Let’s go to lunch and talk about it,” Eiske suggested. A short time later, they sat at Limke’s. Syp and Eiske discussed how Syp might learn more about herbs and plants. Eiske told Syp that if it could find places to get cuttings, it could start them and make an herb garden at his place. They noticed as the voices grew louder at the table next to them.

“This audit was initiated over the weekend. I want to know why it was set in motion.”

“Yes, this should be public knowledge,” a female concurred.

“My understanding is that Superintendent Kingma discovered some irregularities in a student’s lunch account.” Syp hunched over.

“Payments were made from the account to Geldou Bron.”

“Why in the world would Sibolt Mulder authorize that?”

“That’s what the Audit Committee is asking. Mulder’s been suspended pending the completion of the investigation.”

“Hm. I saw those two in Dagmon a few weeks ago.”

“Geldou Bron and Sibolt Mulder? Were they together?”

“She was seated in the back of the Bahta Brewery. He was just going inside.”

“Is she seeing him on the sly?”

“I don’t think so. He and Nenna Kroll have been seeing each other for a long time. He’s pretty sweet on Nenna.”

“Geldou Bron. She’s Jert and Oenke Bonnema’s daughter.”

“Right. Dr. Eiske Bonnema’s sister.”

“Oh, I know her! She’s the bookkeeper for Bonnema’s Boots,” someone else remarked.

“I didn’t know that!”

“I wonder what’s going on.”