Summarize the second paragraph of The loophole of Retreat

Linda hides out in her grandmother's garret (attic), a dark, cramped crawl space infested with rats, mice, and "little red insects." Able to see her children through a small opening in the wood but unable to communicate with them, she spends several miserable months suffering a myriad of ills, including fever and frostbite. Meanwhile, Dr. Flint tries to bribe her children into telling him about Linda's whereabouts.