Chapter 9 Chapter 08 Initial Resistance

The next day, the high fever developed again, and even appeared in the newspapers, but the way of reporting was understated and only hinted at the matter.Another day later, in the most inconspicuous corner of the city, Rieux saw the small white notices that the provincial government had hastily ordered to be put up.It is difficult to see from this announcement that the authorities are facing the facts squarely, and the measures they have taken are not harsh, and it seems that they are catering to the wish of some people not to disturb public opinion.The preamble of the provincial government's decision stated that several cases of dangerously high fevers had been detected in the Oran area, and whether it was contagious was uncertain.The characteristics of these cases have not reached a level of real concern, and it is believed that the public will remain calm.Nevertheless, in the interest of prudence - and this can be understood - the Premier has taken some precautions.These measures are purely to prevent any threat of plague and should be understood and complied with by the public.The governor fully believes that he can get the full cooperation of Yuanmin.

The notice went on to list all the measures taken, including spraying poisonous gas in the sewers for scientific rodent eradication, and strict inspection of water use.The notice asked residents to maintain maximum cleanliness and sanitation, and also asked people with fleas to go to the city clinic.In addition, it is stipulated that the family members of the patients must report the doctor's diagnosis results and agree to send the patients to a special ward of the hospital for isolation.These wards are specially equipped to achieve maximum results in the shortest possible time.There are also several supplementary regulations that stipulate that patient rooms and transport vehicles must be disinfected, among other things.The notice finally asked the family members of the patients to undergo health checks.

Dr. Rieux turned abruptly away from the bulletin board and walked towards the clinic.Joseph Grand, who was waiting for him, raised his hands again when he saw him. Rieux said: "Yes, I know, the numbers have gone up." The night before, a dozen or so patients in the city had died.The doctor told Grand that he might see him in the evening because he was going to visit Cottard. "You are right," said Grand. "You will do him good, because I see a change in him." "What's wrong?" "He became more polite." "Hasn't he been like this before?"

Grand hesitated.He could not say that Cottard had been impolite before, which might not be correct.He was a moody, taciturn man, with a somewhat boar-like bearing.Staying in his own room, eating in a tavern, going out surreptitiously, that was the whole of Cottard's life.His public identity was that of an agent promoting various liquors.Every once in a while there are always two or three people who come to see him, probably his customers.In the evening, he sometimes goes to the cinema opposite his home to watch movies.The civil servant even noticed that Cottard seemed to prefer gangster movies.In any case, the agent came across as withdrawn and suspicious.

According to Grand, all this has changed considerably, saying: "I don't know how to put it, anyway, my impression is, I don't know if it's right, he's trying to get along with people, he wants to hang out with everyone. He talks to me a lot now, asks me to go out with me, and I'm embarrassed to keep saying no." He. Besides, he caused my concern, and I saved his life, after all." No one had seen Cottard since the suicide.Whether on the road or at his suppliers, he is everywhere to win people's favor.He had never chatted with the grocer in such amiable tone, nor had he listened with so much interest to a female smoker.

Grande said: "This female cigarette merchant is a complete poisonous snake. I told Cottard, but he said I was wrong, and you should see that there are good things in people." Two or three times, too, Cottard invited Grand to go to the high-end restaurants and cafés in the city, where he had already begun to set foot. "It's nice there," he said, "and the people around there are not bad." Grand noticed that the service staff in those places treated the agent very well, and when he saw that Cottard was particularly generous in tipping, he understood why.Cottard seemed very grateful for the kindness that was returned to him.One day, as the head waiter walked him to the door and helped him put on his coat, he had said to Grand: "He's a good chap, he can prove it."

"Prove what?" Cottard hesitated and said: "This...proves that I'm not a bad person." In addition, he sometimes has sudden temper tantrums.One day the grocer snubbed him a little, and he came home uncharacteristically pissed off, repeating the abuse: "The bastard, he's tipped like everyone else!" "Who are the others?" "Everyone else." Grand also saw a strange scene at the tobacconist's.In the midst of lively conversation, the woman related the arrest of a criminal who had recently made a sensation in Algiers.It was a case involving the killing of an Arab on a beach by a young shop clerk.The woman said: "These scumbags must be locked up so that the good people can breathe a sigh of relief."

But she had to be interrupted suddenly, because Cottard suddenly changed his face and rushed out of the shop without even saying hello.Grand and the tobacco dealer watched him run away, not knowing what to do. Later Grand described to Rieux other changes in Cottard's temperament.Cottard's thinking has always been very liberal in the past, and his favorite sentence "big fish always eat small fish" is a good proof.But for a while now he has bought only Oran Orthodox newspapers, and reads them in public places with such grandeur that one might almost say that he is a bit of a showman.Another time, a few days after his recovery, when Grand was going to the post office, Cottard asked him to send a monthly payment of one hundred francs to his estranged sister.But when Grand was about to leave, he said: "Send her two hundred francs, and she will be very happy. She thinks I never think of her, but in fact I miss her very much."

He had also had a curious conversation with Grand.He was curious about a little bit of work that Grand did every night, and he asked Grand, wanting to know the details, and Grand was obliged to tell him. "Well, you're writing a book," said Cottard. "You could say the same thing, but it's more complicated than writing a book!" "Ah!" Cottard added, exclaiming, "I wish I could be like you." Grand looked surprised, and Cottard stammered that being an artist would solve a lot of problems. "How do you know?" asked Grand. "Because an artist has more rights than others. Everyone knows that. In many places, people will give him three points."

On the morning of reading the notice, Rieux said to Grand: "It seems to me that he is just as confused by the rat incident as everyone else. Or he may also have a high fever from fear." Grand replied: "I don't believe it, doctor, if you would like to know my opinion..." A rodent extermination car passed under the window outside, and the sound of its exhaust was scary.Rieux remained silent, and only casually asked the civil servant for his opinion when the other party could hear him.Grand looked at him gravely and said, "He's a guilty man." The doctor shrugged.As the precinct chief had said, there were other, more pressing things to do.

In the afternoon Rieux had a conversation with Castel.Serum has still not arrived. Rieux asked: "But does this serum work? There is something strange about this bacillus." "Oh!" said Castel, "I don't agree with you. There's always something peculiar about the creatures, but they're all the same thing after all." "That's just your assumption. In fact, we don't know anything about it." "Of course, that's my assumption. But everybody thinks so." During the day, whenever the doctor thought about the plague, his head swelled slightly, and the feeling grew worse.At last he had to admit that he too was frightened.Twice he went into a café full of customers, and he, like Cottard, needed the warmth of people.Rieux knew it was ridiculous, but it reminded him of his promise to visit the agent. In the evening the doctor saw Cottard sitting at the table in the dining room.When he went in, he saw an open detective novel on the table, but it was already dark, and it seemed that it was difficult to read a book in the dim night.It is more probable that Cottard had been sitting in the dark brooding a minute earlier.Rieux asked him how he was.As he sat down, Cottard babbled that he was not bad, but would be better if he could be assured that no one would bother him.Rieux advised him that one cannot live alone forever. "Oh! That's not what I mean. I mean the ones who just want to trouble you." Rieux was silent. "I'm not talking about myself, mind you. I was reading this novel just now, and it's about some unlucky guy who gets arrested suddenly one morning. He's been kept in the dark. People talk about it in the office. Him, put his name on file. Do you think that's fair? Do you think they have the right to do that to a man?" "That is not to be generalized," Rieux said. "It is true that in a way they have no rights at all, but all this is secondary. You should not be isolated from the world for a long time, you should go out and about." Cottard seemed annoyed, and said he was out and about a lot, and that the whole district could prove it for him if necessary.Even outside the district, there are quite a few people who know him. "Do you know M. Rigaud, the architect? He's a friend of mine." The light in the room is getting darker and darker.Suburban streets gradually became lively.As soon as the street lights came on, there was a low, relaxed cheer outside.Rieux went out onto the balcony, and Cottard followed.Like any other night in the city, there was a breeze from the surrounding districts, murmurs and the smell of roast meat, noisy young people flooded the street, and gradually the street was full of feeling The noise of free, relaxed and joyful people, carried by the wind, mixed with a fragrant breath.In the dark night, the loud whistle of the invisible ship, the noise from the sea and the bustling people, this was a moment that Rieux knew and loved very much in the past, and today, under the influence of all the circumstances he knew, this Moments seemed to oppress him. He said to Cottard: "May I turn on the light?" When the light came on, the little man blinked and looked at Rieux. "Please tell me, doctor, if I am ill, will you admit me to your department for treatment?" "Why not?" Cottard asked again whether there had been any arrests in clinics or hospitals.Rieux replied that there had been such cases, but it all depended on the patient's condition. Cottard said: "I have confidence in you." Then he asked the doctor if he could give him a ride into the city in his car. In the downtown area, there are fewer pedestrians on the street, there are few lights, and children are still playing at the door.At Cottard's request, the doctor stopped the car in front of a group of children.They were playing hopscotch, shouting loudly as they played.One of them, a boy with black hair combed straight and straight, but with a dirty face, looked at Rieux with threatening eyes.The doctor doesn't see him.Cottard stood on the sidewalk and shook hands with the doctor to say goodbye.He spoke hoarsely, with difficulty in pronouncing it, and looking behind him two or three times, said: "Everyone is talking about the plague. Is it true, doctor?" "It's not surprising that people keep talking," said Rieux. "You're right. Once a dozen people die, the end will come. I'm afraid this is not what we hope for." The engine was running and Rieux was ready to drive with his hand on the gear shifter.He looked again at the child who had been scrutinizing him with serious and calm eyes.The child suddenly grinned at him. "So what do we hope for?" asked Rieux, smiling at the child. Suddenly, Cottard grabbed the car door and shouted in a whimpering and furious voice: "I hope there will be an earthquake, a real earthquake!" Then he turned around and ran away. The earthquake didn't happen.The next day Rieux traveled all over the city, busy talking to the patient's family or directly to the patient.Never since Rieux had practiced medicine had he felt such a strain on him from his profession.Until now, the patients have been very cooperative with his work, and they fully trust him.But now, for the first time, the doctor found that they were unwilling to tell the truth, and with horror.With a look of distrust, they kept secret the truth about their illness.It was a struggle he wasn't used to dealing with.At around ten o'clock in the evening, when Rieux drove to the door of the last patient, an old asthmatic, he was too tired to get up from the seat, so he stopped for a while, looking at the dark street and the dark sky Stars flickering in the sky. The old asthmatic sat on the bed, seemed to be breathing a little better, and was counting the chickpeas from one pot and putting them in the other.Seeing the doctor come in, he greeted happily. "What's the matter, doctor," he said, "is it cholera?" "Where did you hear that?" "Read it in the papers, and the radio said so." "No, not cholera." "Anyway," said the old man very excitedly, "those chiefs are exaggerating, eh?" "Don't listen to nonsense," said the doctor. After seeing the old man's illness, he sat in the poor dining room for a while.Yes, he was afraid, he knew that a dozen or so patients with buboes huddled up in the outskirts of the city were waiting for him tomorrow morning.Only two or three cases got better after performing adenotomy, and most of them had to be sent to the hospital, and he knew what the hospital meant to the poor.A patient's wife said to him: "I don't want him to be a test subject for them."It is clear that the measures taken are not enough.As for what the "specially equipped" wards look like, the doctor also has a good idea: these are two buildings that have been vacated after hastily removed other patients.These measures conceived by the administration seemed unlikely to work if the plague did not stop its spread. However, the official communiqué issued in the evening remained upbeat.The next day, the Ransdock Intelligence Bureau claimed that the provincial government's measures had been accepted, the crowd was calm, and more than 30 patients had declared their illnesses.Castel called Rieux: "How many beds are there in the special ward?" "Eighty." "There must be more than thirty patients in the city, right?" "Some people are timid, and there are many more people who are too late to declare." "Is the burial supervised?" "No, I have already called Richard and told him that he should take comprehensive measures instead of just talking empty words. He should also establish a practical barrier to prevent the plague from spreading, otherwise he should simply do nothing." "How did he say?" "He told me there was nothing he could do. I see the numbers going up." Within three days, the two buildings were full.Richard heard that a school was about to be vacated to make way for an auxiliary hospital.Rieux was waiting for a vaccine against the disease, and was operating on patients to drain pus.Castel stayed in the library for a long time, looking for information from the pile of ancient books.He concluded: "The rats are now dying of the plague, or of a disease very similar to it. These rats have spread thousands of fleas. If not prevented in time, these fleas will spread the disease at a rate increase geometrically." Rieux was silent. By this time the weather seemed to have stabilized.The accumulated water after the recent heavy rains has gradually been dried by the sun.A ray of golden sunshine in the blue sky, the sound of rumbling planes in the heat wave that just started, everything in this season brings people into a state of tranquility.However, in the four days, the high fever had four shocking leaps.In four days, the number of deaths increased from sixteen, twenty-four, twenty-eight to thirty-two.By the fourth day, a kindergarten was declared converted to an assisted ward.The townspeople, who had continued to hide their apprehensions by joking with one another, now walked the streets dejected and silent. Rieux decided to call the prefect and said: "These measures are not enough." "I've seen the numbers and it's really worrying," the premier said. "These numbers are more than worrying, they speak for themselves." "I am about to report to the Colonial Government and await orders." Rieux hung up the phone in front of Castel and said: "Order! I'm afraid I have to imagine it!" "What about the serum?" "Can be delivered within this week." The provincial government, through Richard, asked Rieux to send a report to the colonial capital for orders.Rieux also wrote about the patient, adding figures.Forty people died that day.According to the prefect, he is personally responsible for intensifying the original measures from the next day.Compulsory declaration and isolation measures are still implemented according to the original plan. The patient’s house must be closed and disinfected, and the relatives of the patient must undergo safety quarantine. The burial of the patient after death is organized by the municipal authority.A day later, the serum arrived by plane.These serums are sufficient for patients under treatment, but not enough if the epidemic develops.Rieux received a telegram to say that the emergency stock of serum had been exhausted and that new ones were being prepared. At this time, the suburbs sent spring to the market.Thousands of roses were wilting in florist's baskets along the sidewalks, and the rich rose fragrance wafted across the city.Superficially, everything was as usual: the trams were always full at rush hour, but at other times they were empty and dirty; Tarrou was still watching the little old man who was still spitting; Grand returned every night as usual. Cottard was still wandering about; Monsieur Othon, the examining magistrate, was still leading his animals to and fro; the asthmatic old man was still handling chickpeas.One still occasionally met the journalist Rambert, who was calm but concerned only with himself; at night the streets were still full of people and there were long queues in front of the cinemas.As for the epidemic, it seems to have eased, and only a dozen people died in a few days.But it didn't take long for the epidemic to worsen suddenly, and the death toll skyrocketed again.On the day the death toll had returned to around thirty, Bernard Rieux said, reading the official telegram handed to him by the prefect: "They are frightened!" The telegram read: "Official declaration of plague .close the city."