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Show Chapter Eight Oh, I was so mad at Papa I could have screamed! Doesn't he know I'll never use that horrible thing? I told him not to, but he went and bought it anyway. I think I'd rather die than use it and I told Papa so. He just pushed it in the corner, but I can tell he's thinking I'll get tired of sitting in this yard and want a change of scenery. But Nettie Peterson will never sit in a wheelchair!!! The typhoid epidemic was severe in Lovell. Hardly a family was not affected by the dread disease. Mama carefully nursed Robert and Nettie and feared for Clarence and Alice, but happily they seemed immune and as the weeks passed, fifteen-year-old Robert gradually grew better and returned to his normal routine helping Papa with the livestock and attending school. Nettie, however, remained ill. Mama carefully hung onions around the room to absorb the peculiar odor typical of typhoid and the germs which could infect the rest of the family. She watched as Nettie lay listlessly on her bed, so very unlike the normally active child. Mama was not one to display her feelings but her heart ached for this very special child. Nettie was an exasperation to her at times, always so brash and bold, so lively and inquisitive, but because idleness was |