Professor Codman sat back in his chair, tented his fingers, and stared into space.

“The preliminary stating of facts didn’t bother me as much as her conclusions,” he said after a moment. “The basis for Dr. Lee’s paper was built on empirical evidence that I found hard to swallow: primarily, her observations on the anecdotes told by the men involved. Unfortunately, the ship’s captain died before the interviews took place. His logbook was never found.”

“Don’t firsthand observations have some validity?” Paul asked.

“Oh, yes, but think of it: these men had been ill at the time, some even in fever comas, and their recollections were recorded decades after the event.”

“What was the nature of those recollections?” Paul asked.

“They all had the same story: they fell ill after leaving port, became unconscious, and woke up the next day in good health.”

“Was spontaneous remission a possibility?” Gamay asked.

“Dr. Lee presented reports of a flulike plague that rampaged through the fleet then. Judging by its speed and ferocity, as well as influenza’s high mortality rate, I’d say spontaneous remission was not likely.”

“You said the crewmen all told the same story,” Gamay said. “Wouldn’t that strengthen the account of what happened?”

“A whaling vessel was a small community unto itself. I think they developed a shared story line.” He paused. “Only the first mate had a different version.”

“Did he contradict the crew’s version?” Gamay asked.

“No. In fact, the first mate supplemented it. He recalled the ship dropping anchor at an island, even going ashore with the captain. He also remembered seeing glowing blue lights and feeling a stinging sensation in his chest. He woke up feeling as if he had never been sick.”

“That’s interesting about the sting,” Gamay said. “Do you think he was talking about a primitive version of inoculation?”

“He seemed to have been going in that direction. He said all the surviving crew and officers had a reddish mark on their chests. The lights could have been hallucinations or the electrical phenomenon known as Saint Elmo’s fire and the marks insect bites. In any case, inoculation can prevent disease but isn’t known to cure it.”

“Did the Harvard team take blood samples from the men?” Gamay asked.

“Yes. The samples were subjected to microscopic analysis. There was apparently some unusual antigen activity, but you have to understand that the optical instrumentation then was primitive by today’s standards. The science of immunology is comparatively young. Jenner and Pasteur had yet to make their groundbreaking discoveries explaining why people, having survived a disease, rarely caught it again after that.”

“Could the blood samples be analyzed today?” Gamay asked

“Sure, if we had them. Apparently, the samples were thrown out or just plain lost.” He handed the report to Gamay. “In any event, I’m sure you will find it fascinating reading.”