Canteens (Establishments) -- Juvenile fiction; World War, 1939-1945 -- Juvenile fiction
Kitty was about to make a saucy retort when Billy piped up. “Look, Kit,
there’s the Red Cross station wagon!”
Sure enough they were passing the park where the station wagon was
being loaded again. Miss Pearson glanced her way and waved.
“I think she’s going to be nice to work with,” said Kitty happily. “I
can hardly wait till Monday to begin my training.”
“Can I ride in the station wagon with you when you’re a Canteen
worker?” Billy wanted to know.
“If they’ll let you.”
At the corner where they had to turn toward the docks, the taxi was
held up by traffic. A crowded Palmetto Island bus in front of them was
loading passengers. A dozen or more people couldn’t get on at all.
Among them Kitty noticed Lieutenant Cary, one of the physicians from
their own hospital. It seemed a shame to leave him to wait for the next
bus when there was plenty of room in their launch.
As the taxi crept through the traffic near the spot where the young
lieutenant stood, she called out to him, “Come down to the dock.” She
pointed down the side street toward the bay. “We’ll give you a ride
over to the island in our launch.”
He acknowledged her invitation with a dignified bow. When they moved on
Kitty turned to Brad and said, “Seemed a shame not to pick him up. You
know him of course—Lieutenant Cary?”
“Oh, yes.”
Kitty was surprised to find Brad’s cool tone reflecting some of her own
instinctive dislike of the man. She tried to disregard the feeling for
she scarcely knew Lieutenant Cary. She had encountered him only a few
times in her father’s office at the hospital. Though he made obvious
efforts to be friendly Kitty had an unaccountable aversion for him. But
she could not let her ungrounded prejudice go so far as to make her
pass by one of her father’s co-workers, when she had plenty of room to
take him home. Transportation conditions were bad enough, without
anyone traveling with unused space.
Brad was most helpful in loading Hazel’s suitcases into the launch. By
the time they had loaded the launch and warmed the motor, Lieutenant
Cary came sprinting toward them. Brad and Miss Dawson saluted their
superior officer as the physician paused a moment on the dock.
“This is really kind of you, Miss Carter,” Cary said, stepping into the
launch. “I had no idea there’d be such a traffic jam when I came over.”
“Miss Dawson, may I present Lieutenant Cary?” said Kitty, while Cary
still stood beside her in the middle of the launch.
He bowed with what Kitty thought exaggerated formality under the
cramped conditions. “You’re the new nurse scheduled to begin work
tomorrow, I presume?”
“That is correct, Lieutenant Cary.”
Kitty felt as if icy spray had been dashed into her face at the
coolness of the tone.
“You’re no relation of Mate Willard Dawson, I presume?” questioned the
Lieutenant.
“I’m proud to say he’s my brother!” Hazel Dawson spoke the words almost
with defiance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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