Fever (A Story from The Hermit’s Cave)

In this episode of The Hermit’s Cave, a miserly old farmer gets a fever, but he doesn’t want to die and leave his farm and his money. His son Elton can’t wait for the old man to die, but Elton’s sister Theo has spent her entire life looking after their pa and only dreams of the freedom to live her own life.

When the farmer finally succumbs to the fever he still has the key to his strongbox in his hand, and his final request is that Theo should leave the key there, but Elton demands that she give him the key. He is the eldest, he wants to sit and count the money just like his pa always did, and he has no intention of sharing with his sister.

As soon as he has the key Elton begins counting, but gets a fright when he turns around and sees his pa watching him from the doorway. Elton calls for Theo and tells her about it, but she thinks that it is only a hallucination because she and Elton have both come down with the fever that killed their father. Elton is not so sure though, and he insists that Theo accompany him down to the parlour to inspect the body and make sure that the old man really is dead. When they reach the parlour the coffin is still there, their pa is still stretched out inside it, and everything appears to be fine—until his hand starts moving.

The Hermit’s Cave: Fever

(Listen to the Full Episode)