SGB Chapter 334

## Chapter 334: Urgent Express

The meeting room was filled with the sound of Sno’s voice, dry from talking. He finally took a large gulp of wine.

Arthur, leaning back on the sofa, was still pondering how to deal with Hadskarl.

From Sno’s description, Hadskarl had indeed violated the Anatomy Act with his actions, but his methods weren’t particularly brutal.

The fact that the Liverpool authorities hadn’t received any reports about Hadskarl wasn’t because they were deliberately concealing it from Arthur, nor was it due to some kind of conspiracy. It was simply because they hadn’t received any reports about this physician seeking to rise from the ashes.

Firstly, Hadskarl had obtained the understanding of some patients’ families in exchange for free treatment and medicine.

Secondly, the other patients who were dissected were ones he had picked up from the streets. These people had no families, so naturally, no one would bother Hadskarl.

As for whether Hadskarl had intentionally murdered patients for scientific research, Arthur felt the possibility was slim based on the current spread of disease in Liverpool.

According to a report from the Central Health Committee last year by doctors who had been sent to Russia to investigate the cholera epidemic: in moderate to severe cholera patients who experienced symptoms of dehydration and did not receive proper treatment, 50% to 75% died from shock on the first day of the illness. The rest would die from other symptoms caused by shock within a week. Statistics showed that in the absence of medical intervention, the overall natural mortality rate of cholera would be as high as 50% to 66%.

In other words, there were a large number of cholera patients, and the mortality rate was also very high. Finding such a body wouldn’t be too difficult, making murder unnecessary.

Hadskarl would be better off worrying about contracting this deadly disease from dissecting corpses rather than fretting over finding bodies.

This was probably one of the reasons why Rosenberg hadn’t chosen to expose Hadskarl immediately.

Although some British doctors had always claimed that cholera was caused by miasma, so doctors responsible for treating patients wouldn’t be infected as a result of their treatment.

However, according to the data Arthur had learned from the Liverpool Health Committee, although the infection rate among doctors was indeed not high, there was an alarming rate of secondary transmission among the group of caregivers who were responsible for looking after patients, cleaning up vomit and bedsheets.

Hadskarl’s medical ethics were indeed questionable, but the fact that he persisted in dissecting patients in this situation at least showed that his obsession with rising to the top had overwhelmed his fear of death.

He desperately wanted to shed his hats as a pharmacist and surgeon in this medical pyramid formed by physicians, surgeons, and pharmacists and move towards the authority of the medical world—the rare physicians who were solely responsible for diagnosing diseases and prescribing treatments.

However, what Hadskarl was thinking now didn’t matter. What mattered was that his emergence made Arthur realize that there were undoubtedly many people like him in Britain, eager to rise from the ashes and willing to resort to radical treatments.

Although there weren’t many research papers published in The Lancet and The London Journal of Medicine on the importance of salt supplementation, there were a few. Since Hadskarl could notice this and try to use intravenous injection therapy on patients, then other doctors must have also noticed.

The key question now was how to make the Central Health Committee and the Court of Chancery recognize this as a viable treatment option.

Knowing what was right was difficult enough. But what was even harder than finding the answer was convincing a world steeped in rigid ideas why it was right.

He recalled Hadskarl’s defense just now, and his furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

He suddenly turned to Sno, who was nervously clutching his wine glass, and said: “Mr. Sno, could you please tear a sheet of blank paper from that notebook for me? I need to write a letter.”

“Of course.” Sno tore a sheet and handed it over, asking cautiously, “Who are you writing to with this letter?”

Arthur took out his pen and began to write, “The Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham.”

“Ah…” Sno’s face turned pale, “You still don’t intend to let Mr. Hadskarl go?”

“Regarding Mr. Hadskarl, I don’t intend to let him go, nor do I intend to hold onto him tightly. Dissecting corpses isn’t a crime, but illegally possessing corpses is. However, under the Anatomy Act, this crime has become similar to illegally occupying someone else’s property.

As long as Mr. Hadskarl is willing to pay a fine, then we can go through the process. But if he can’t afford it, considering he provided a new perspective, I don’t intend to report him.

But not reporting him also means I won’t protect him. Since he wants to enjoy the benefits of breaking the law, he also has to bear the consequences of being outside the law. If, during this time, any relatives of the patients attack him violently, the Liverpool authorities will not be in a hurry to deal with the attackers.

If Mr. Hadskarl really has the understanding of his patients’ families, as you said, I think he will naturally get through this period safely. After that, although his paper, which is suspected of being illegal, still cannot be published, I will personally provide him with some financial compensation.”

When Sno heard this, his hanging heart finally settled.

Although this wasn’t the best outcome, it was better than what Rosenberg had said—having his medical license revoked and losing both money and reputation.

With this problem solved, Sno finally began to consider his own personal problems.

The meeting room was quiet, only the sound of Arthur’s writing.

Sno thought about it for a long time, and finally took out a report from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“Mr. H… Hastings, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but could you take a look at this when you have time?”

“What is this?” Arthur looked up at the document.

Sno stammered, “That… that’s just a little bit of my personal research findings. Of course, I know that as a pharmacy apprentice, using the word research might be a bit presumptuous. But I think the conclusions of the report might be helpful in the prevention and control of cholera.”

Arthur unfolded the document and glanced at it. It was more of a map than a document, a map with little red dots. Except for the areas marked with red dots, which were slightly different from the map Arthur had in his hand, the rest of the information was almost identical.

Arthur’s eyes widened. He stared at Sno and asked with a smile, “How did you come up with this method? Did you also work in urban surveying?”

“I… I learned it from medical journals.”

Sno boldly said, “I saw an article in The London Journal of Medicine about how Mr. Valentine Seaman of America had drawn a map of the outbreak site to analyze the causes of the yellow fever outbreak in New York City in 1798.

Although the article was inconspicuous, the name New York caught my interest. New York, I knew what old York in Britain was like, but I hadn’t seen what new York in America looked like.

So, I read the article carefully. So when cholera broke out in Liverpool this year, I started to learn from Mr. Seaman’s analytical methods. In my spare time, while assisting Mr. Hadskarl, I visited local parish priests and asked them if they would allow me to see the health conditions of the parishioners.”

Arthur flipped through the statistical survey report bound with the map. He had to say that although Sno was just a common pharmacy apprentice, his report was more professional and detailed than Arthur’s.

Although this report might still be immature in the eyes of true professionals and medical researchers, it was precisely because of this hint of unprofessionalism in its professionalism that outsiders like his mentor, Lord Brougham, would find it easier to understand.

Arthur put away the map and report and promised Sno, “Mr. Sno, congratulations. Your report will be submitted along with my letter to the chairman of our board of directors, who is also the highest supervisor in the field of national medical and health services—the Lord Chancellor of Britain, Lord Brougham. I believe he will be very happy that our London University is about to gain such an outstanding figure as you.”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, Sno almost sprayed the gin in his mouth into the fireplace.

He covered his mouth, unable to believe what he had heard.

In just the time he had spent with Arthur, he had already received a promise to study at the University Medical School and was about to gain the attention of the man who held the highest power in the field of medicine in Britain.

This was not something that could be described as a pie falling from the sky. Sno felt as if the world was showering him with gold, and all the gold was hitting the top of his head.

Sno covered his forehead, feeling as if the world was spinning. He said, “Mr. H… Hastings, I’m sorry, I’m not usually like this. It’s just that today, your words… ah, no, it’s the gin, it’s too intoxicating.”

Arthur just smiled and stood up, patting him on the shoulder, “Young man, this is just the beginning, the intoxicating part is still to come. York was born to do great things. The son of a York farmhand can be a pig farmer, a Scotland Yard detective. So it’s not too much for the son of a York miner to be a medical professor. But you must remember, you are very lucky, and you have a bright future, so don’t learn from your teacher, you just need to take one step at a time.”

Sno nodded excitedly, “Of course, Mr. Hastings, I’ll keep your words in mind. But…”

Having said that, Sno hesitated again. He stared at the letter in Arthur’s hand and asked, “You really didn’t ask the Lord Chancellor to deal with Mr. Hadskarl?”

Arthur just smiled and shook his head, “Of course not. I just asked him to allow Professor Augustus de Morgan, who just joined London University this year as a mathematics professor, and his students to be temporarily seconded to the Central Health Committee to be responsible for mathematical induction.

You have discovered a possibility of the source of cholera through statistics, and I hope the Central Health Committee can make good use of the resources at hand and have the local committees do a good job of medical statistics. We need to know not only the number of cholera patients, the mortality rate, and the recovery rate, but also whether the patients’ conditions are mild, moderate, or severe.

Of course, what I want to know most is what treatments the doctors have used for their patients in different stages, and which treatment method is the most effective.”

Having said that, Arthur opened the door to the meeting room and handed the letter to the guard waiting outside.

“Tell Chief Edward of the Post Office that this letter must be on the desk of the Court of Chancery before sunrise tomorrow.”

…

The night was dark, and the waters outside the port of Liverpool were dotted with fishing lights.

Rolling white waves crashed against the fishing boats laden with catches.

The boat rose and fell, causing the sailors on deck to sway up and down, as if butterflies were dancing.

The captain, with facial paralysis, held onto his hat and pulled at the corner of his mouth as he emerged from the cabin.

He raised his single-barrel telescope and scanned the pitch-black sea around him, observing and shouting orders to the sailors, “Lads! All of you, be on high alert! A cat owl flew into Liverpool the other day, and even the lazy bastards in the Royal Navy learned to be nocturnal. Sailing isn’t as easy and carefree as it used to be. One wrong move, and you’ll be thrown in jail.”

As the sailors adjusted the height of the sails, one asked, “Boss, I heard that the Royal Navy’s coastal patrol ship fired on Henderson’s ship in the open sea a few days ago and blew a hole in it. Is that true?”

“Not just that, Russell seems to have had bad luck too. They left from the Isle of Man a while back and ran into the Black Clown, which was returning from the Ivory Coast, off the coast of Cornwall. Those guys from West Africa are really ruthless. They didn’t fire a single shot, just used their speed to bite on your ass. As soon as they got close, they jumped onto your ship, giving you no chance to escape. Russell resisted for a while, but they lost both their cargo and their ship.”

“Boss, are we going to be in trouble too?”

The captain lowered his telescope and glared at them, “What kind of business are Henderson and Russell in? What kind of business am I in? Henderson and Russell’s backers are just a few importers and customs officers, at most they have some connections with the city hall. But I have the Royal Navy behind me. We all do our own thing. Colonel Jefferson of the Royal Navy told me this route is safe today. As long as we can dock before sunrise, we won’t have any problems.”

As the captain finished speaking, several lights suddenly appeared on the foggy sea.

The smugglers were blinded by the dazzling lights.

Then, they heard a command coming from the sea ahead.

“Colonel Jefferson, target ship sighted ahead. Enemy has reached 300 yards effective firing range!”

Under the light, an arm swung down forcefully, “Listen to my orders, ramming attack!”

Boom!

Columns of smoke rose from the sea.

After the sound of cannon fire, a heart-wrenching roar could be faintly heard.

“Jefferson, you two-faced bastard! Robbing your own? You actually played dirty with me?!”

(End of chapter)