The Red Cross Girls with Pershing to Victory Part 5

Nevertheless, within forty-eight hours after the pa.s.sing of the American troops through Luxemburg, it appeared to Sonya that some unexpected change had taken place in her group of Red Cross nurses.

What they were actually ordered to do they did in a fairly dutiful fas.h.i.+on, but the old enthusiasm, the old pa.s.sionate desire for service had vanished. Among the entire group of nurses a relaxation of discipline had taken place. The excitement of their journey, the knowledge that the war had ended in the allied victory, a natural desire for pleasure after so long a strain, apparently possessed them alike, except Nora Jamison who was comparatively new to the work, and seemed in every way an unusual girl.

Frankly Bianca Zoli confessed to Sonya, not long after their arrival in Luxemburg, that she was weary of the endless waiting upon the nurses and patients and needed a short rest. And Sonya agreed that this was true.

Bianca was younger than any member of their Red Cross unit and had been faithful and untiring in her devotion for many months during the final allied struggle for victory. Moreover, Bianca also appeared slightly depressed and Sonya wisely guessed this was partly due to the long separation from Carlo Navara, which Bianca must see was inevitable. With his regiment Carlo was moving toward the Rhine and nothing was apt to be less in his mind for the time being than his friends.h.i.+p for the young girl whom he undoubtedly regarded only in a semi-brotherly spirit composed of indifference and affection.

Since the greater part of the nursing at the temporary hospital in Luxemburg was the care of the soldiers who were ill with influenza, and feeling that Bianca was not altogether in the right state of health to battle with the contagion, Sonya requested Miss Blackstone to permit her to have a half holiday, doing no work that was not voluntary.

But with Nona Davis and Mildred Thornton, the two Red Cross nurses who had given the most valuable personal service, since the outbreak of the war, the situation was more serious and far more difficult to meet.

They did not neglect their duties, this would have been impossible to either of them, and yet in a way it was plain that they were no longer wholly absorbed by them and to use an old expression, their hearts were no longer in what they were doing.

Yet Sonya understood; both girls were engaged to be married to young American officers who were at present in the United States. With the signing of the armistice they had hoped to return home. It was possible they had made a mistake in agreeing to Dr. Clark's request that they remain for a time longer in Europe, forming a part of his Red Cross unit, who were to care for the soldiers of the American Army of Occupation.

With Mildred Thornton the engagement was comparatively recent. During the latter part of July she had nursed through a dangerous illness, following a wound, an American lieutenant[A] who, together with Carlo Navara, had crossed into the German lines, securing important secret information, afterwards invaluable to Marshal Foch.

Of longer standing was Nona Davis's romance, which had not been of such plain sailing. In the early months after the entry of the United States into the world war, in an American camp in France, she had met and renewed an acquaintance with Lieutenant John Martin which had begun as children years before in the old city of Charleston, South Carolina.

Soon after Lieutenant Martin had declared his affection, but believing him arrogant and domineering, Nona had not at that time returned his love.

Later, meeting again upon a United States hospital s.h.i.+p, coming back from France, Nona had discovered Lieutenant Martin, now Captain Martin, blinded through a gallant action on the battlefields of France.

It was then that their former positions were reversed, for Captain Martin would not accept a devotion which he believed born of pity and declined marrying Nona unless his sight were restored. A short time before a letter from New York announced that after an operation, Captain Martin had the right to believe his sight would be fully regained.

Therefore would Nona marry him as soon as it could be arranged? And Nona's answer had been to cable, "Yes."[B]

However, both Mildred Thornton and Nona Davis having already sacrificed so much to their four years of Red Cross service in Europe, had decided to make this ultimate sacrifice in the postponing of their happiness.

Yet here during the temporary pause of their Red Cross unit in Luxemburg, Sonya was able to see that the two girls were finding their self-surrender harder to accept bravely than they had antic.i.p.ated.

Whenever it was possible without neglecting their duties they were apt to wander off for mutual sympathy and confidences. Even Sonya found herself often ignored or forgotten. Sometimes she feared that they might harbor a slight resentment, because it was her husband, Dr. David Clark, who had asked the personal sacrifice.

With two other of her Red Cross nurses Sonya had neither much sympathy nor understanding. Ruth Carroll had never interested her particularly; she was a large, quiet girl, ordinarily a dutiful and fairly reliable nurse, but without special gifts, although as a matter of fact, Dr.

Clark had not shared in his wife's disparaging opinion.

However, Sonya knew herself to be prejudiced and not so much by Ruth herself as by reason of her close friends.h.i.+p with Theodosia Thompson and the younger girl's undoubted influence upon her.

Thea had been right in her supposition that Mrs. Clark neither liked nor trusted her particularly, although Sonya herself had scarcely been aware of her own point of view until after the beginning of the journey of her Red Cross unit toward Germany. Since then Sonya was not at all sure that Thea might not prove an uncomfortable if not an actually mischievous influence.

One of Dr. Clark's old students at a prominent New York Medical University and afterwards his a.s.sistant, Dr. Hugh Raymond, was a young physician in whom the older man had extraordinary confidence and for whom he hoped great things. In the Red Cross hospital near Chateau-Thierry he had done splendid and untiring work. But both Sonya and her husband had often smiled over the young doctor's apparent dislike of women and girls. Not even with Sonya herself had he been willing to be more than coldly friendly.

Yet since the movement of their unit toward the Rhine, Sonya had noticed an odd change in him. At first it had appeared as if Thea's attempts to make him show an interest in her had simply annoyed him. Later she seemed to provoke him. Recently Sonya believed Thea was having a marked effect upon him, sometimes aggravating and at other times pleasing him.

And although Sonya believed she understood human nature, she also realized that nothing would irritate her husband more profoundly than to discover any kind of personal feeling existing between his nurses and physicians. During all the Red Cross work in Europe from this complication they had been singularly free.

Moreover, Sonya did not consider that Theodosia Thompson was seriously interested in Dr. Raymond. It was her personal opinion that Thea simply desired admiration and attention, because her nature was restless and dissatisfied.

And it was with the two nurses, Ruth Carroll and Theodosia Thompson, that Sonya had her first real grievance since the beginning of her Red Cross work.

Among the patients who had been brought to the temporary Luxemburg hospital was Major James Hersey, who had been in command of a battalion near Chateau-Thierry and had been taken ill with influenza along the route of the march toward Germany.

Perhaps Major Jimmie had been longing too ardently to accompany his picked troops to the left bank of the Rhine; however, he was at present pretty seriously ill.

All day Sonya had been caring for him and at about four o'clock in the afternoon she was beginning to feel that she was growing too tired to be left alone. Major Hersey was delirious and already it was long past the hour when Theodosia Thompson had been expected to relieve her. Yet she continued to wait patiently, not daring to leave her charge even for a moment.

Four o'clock pa.s.sed and then five and no one entered the sick room, not even one of the Red Cross physicians, and Sonya had been expecting a call from Dr. Raymond some time during the afternoon.

At a little after five, Miss Blackstone stepped in unannounced. She was the superintendent of the hospital and Sonya discovered her looking both worried and worn. She was a large, plain, middle-aged woman who had worked with Dr. Clark for a number of years before his marriage to Sonya, and although she and Sonya had not liked each other in the early days of their acquaintance, they had become far more friendly since.

"I am more sorry than I can say, Mrs. Clark, not to have sent some one in to help you, but the most amazing thing has happened. Just after lunch Miss Thompson and Miss Carroll asked permission to take a short motor ride with Dr. Raymond and Dr. Mendel. Dr. Raymond a.s.sured me himself that they would not be gone over an hour. It has been much nearer three hours and I hardly know what to do. Some accident must have occurred. What do you think we should do?"

Sonya shrugged her shoulders.

"Do? Why nothing but wait. I have an idea nothing has happened beyond the fact that they have forgotten their responsibilities."

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: See Red Cross Girls with United States Marines.]

[Footnote B: See Red Cross Girls Afloat with the Flag.]

CHAPTER VI

_The Ride_

IT was true, as Miss Blackstone had said, that the little party of four, the two Red Cross nurses and two physicians, had started out with the intention of taking only a short drive and returning to the hospital in plenty of time for their duties.

And in spite of the fact that Sonya might be cheris.h.i.+ng an unreasonable prejudice, the drive had been proposed by Dr. Raymond first to Theodosia Thompson with the suggestion that she ask Ruth Carroll to accompany them and that he invite Dr. Leon Mendel who was also one of the Red Cross staff.

Early in the morning of the same day a note had been sent to the hospital and a motor car offered to the American Red Cross unit during their stay in Luxemburg. As the note had been delivered to Dr. Raymond he had considered it only courtesy to accept the kindness. He had also been quite selfishly interested in seeing the capital city of Luxemburg and the neighboring country and in enjoying a short respite from his continuous work of establis.h.i.+ng the temporary hospital.

If Sonya was annoyed by the young doctor's att.i.tude toward Thea Thompson, a.s.suredly he was more so. Certainly he was not at present under the impression that he actually liked her, only that she had somehow made him realize that he must have always appeared too self-centered and too serious, and that he needed waking up. And certainly Thea was stimulating and now and then amusing.

This afternoon as he was feeling tired he proposed that she occupy the front seat of the little motor car with him, Ruth and Dr. Mendel sitting in the rear.

Following no guide except their own impressions they drove through the city, first past the Grand Ducal Palace then the handsome residences of the n.o.bility and finally to the open country on the outskirts of the city.

To all four of the occupants of the car it seemed to have had wings, so short a time did their drive absorb.

Nevertheless Thea and Dr. Raymond had not enjoyed each other particularly.

They were both tired and Thea was having one of the attacks of depression from which she often suffered. She looked both homely and pale, and even her eyes were less blue beneath their straight, red-brown lashes. Only her red hair breaking into irrepressible little waves under her small hat was full of life and charm.

Reaching the end of the main road from which two country lanes branched off into less inhabited portions of the countryside, Dr. Raymond turned to speak to Ruth Carroll and Dr. Mendel.

"I am sorry, it seems to me our ride has scarcely begun, and yet I feel we had best turn back here. We might allow ourselves a little more time but I am afraid if we try one of these unexplored roads we may lose ourselves somewhere."

Ruth made a little nod of agreement even though her expression revealed disappointment. Dr. Mendel made no reply.

But unexpectedly Dr. Raymond felt a hand laid lightly on his coat sleeve.