Chapter 7 Summary

In November, the hospital ship of the Anglican fleet makes its periodic visit, with a new doctor aboard. The doctor fails to painlessly treat his first dental patient, and Mark ends up pulling some teeth after the doctor departs. Mark and Jim then have to transport a patient with what Mark diagnoses as acute appendicitis to the hospital ship after it has moved on, making a dangerous but life-saving trip through dense fog. Mark returns to the vicarage to face the rebellion of various inanimate objects in December and displays a growing confidence in his ability to deal with them. He also has to deal with a boat problem caused by his lack of maintenance and does so successfully. As he works through these simple tasks, he gets acquainted with more of the locals and begins to know them better, including Calamity Bill...