Fever “Shaft of death fly closer and closer to us every day” (Dr. Benjamin Rush). In the novel Fever 1793 William Farnsworth Cook is the grandfather of Matilda Cook. He was also Captain of the Pennsylvania Fifth Regiment. One pivotal moment in the chaters life is when William tried to protect Matilda from the attackers that had invaded the coffeehouse. Although in doing so it led to his own death. Two men entered the coffeehouse to steal, but Matilda was caught after she knocked down one of the men. Grandfather had heard and walked down stairs with his rifle; he tried to shoot one of the men but had missed. The other man had scrambled out the window. The man that grandfather had trid shoot jumped on him and punched him in the face and