FLIGHT FROM NATCHEZ

Frank Slaughter- who can be typed- three ways, medical, biblical or historical,- here uses the true incident of the Natchez refugees (this was also true of the last in this blood group- Fort Everglades) as a basis for the story of Surgeon Captain John Powers, who is cashiered out of the British Army in 1781 on a false charge. He hopes to secure his revenge against Fanning through Fanning's sister, Mrs. Stella Wright, who is married to an aging, ailing doctor in Natchez, and who offers him a job as Wright's assistant. On the way north, he rescues Faith Gordon, stranded there, and their marriage seems expedient and he takes her with him to Natchez which is now threatened by the Spanish. Powers joins with the Wrights in the evacuation which follows and the group of exiles is betrayed by a shifty wilderness guide; the reality of smallpox follows the threat of Indians, and Powers- making up his own vaccine-brings them through safely. He also learns to differentiate between his feelings for Stella Wright and the girl he has married, is ready to return the steady love Faith has offered him. Again the categorical imperative- but it won't be as impressive as say, The Healer.