Artifacts

Back in the main cabin, William reluctantly hauls a much larger crate onto the table.

"I'm not sure I should be doing this," he grumbles, picking up the crowbar.

The lid comes off with a screech of nails. You and Claudia crowd close as he lifts out the artifacts one by one.

"The Doctor's kit." He carefully moves aside the bone saws and scalpels. "A full rack of little vials labeled 'calomel.' Ten of 'em, all full. And one bottle half-full of pills, labeled 'bitters.' And one labeled 'corrosive sublimate.' Maybe a pinch gone off the top."

"No James's Powder?" Claudia asks. He shakes his head.

"Here's everything from the garbage pile," he goes on. He lifts out five of the heavy glass bottles, all empty, and six opened food tins.

"And this." He lifts out a pancake of wooden staves. The sharp scent of alcohol hits your nostrils. "It was a full cask of brandy -- before it was crushed in the ice. There are four others like it back at the site. Two of them were also full."

"It's stamped 'aquavit -- 2 gallons' on the side," Claudia notices.

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