CHAPTER III
i Laura Blake, army nurse, after
active duty in New Guinea, has
been back in the United States
making a speaking tour to recruit
girls for the Nurse Corps. But
she longs to return to the South
west Pacific, especially os her fi
ance, Jerry Donaldson, bomber pi
lot is out there. Finally she recei
ves orders to report in Washing
ton to learn her next assignment.
Arriving there she shares a taxi
to the Pentagon building with
Col. Bob Beston, flying ace who
distinguished himself in China,
and who also wants to get back to
the front after a tour of duty as
a flying instructor in Texas. He
makes a date with Laura for din
ner. Laura gets her orders to re
port to New York instead of San
Francisco as she had hoped. She
receives a telegram from Jerry
in San Francisco and wires him to
meet her at the Manhattan hotel
in New York.
Her eyes swept the lobby as she
almost ran through it to the desk
No sign of Jerry.
The clerk ot the desk was the
same one who had been so helpful
the day before.
“No—no word of him yet,’’ he
called, as Laura approached. ‘I’ve
checked with the others, too.
There’s no slip-up, I’m sure. And
I’ll be able to give you a room to
morrow morning.’’
"I won’t be here to need a room
tomorrow morning!-’ Laura cried.
It was Laura who spotted Jerry
first—about an hour later. She
saw him as he pushed thiough the
revolving door with''such a shove
that it almost swept a very digni
fied matron off her feet. He came
bounding up the steps from the
loor, looking eagerly through the
crowd.
It was in the middle of the lob
by that Laura intercepted him—
and there, oblivious to everyone
around them they threw their arms
around each other and clung tight
“What’s all- this?” Jerry ex
claimed. “You’l think you had to
get the cops out after me and all
the time I've been breaking my
neck to get here. Don’t you real
ize, Laura my love, that I’ve bro
ken just about all records for a
trip from Australia to New York?
And now these people are all say
ing “She found him!”
Laura laugher. “I’ll tell you all
about it," she said. “And how did
you manage to get here so quick
ly from San Francisco?”
“Flew,” Jerry said. “I was
hauntign the airport out there,
but without much hope, since I
had no priority or anything. And
then some nice guy happened to
hear me telling my story for the
umpteenth time to the ticket man
anl he said I could have his place
Just an ordinary guy traveling on
business— but with a heart of
gold I’ll tell you.”
“That’s wonderful!” Laura
cried. “And now let’s go some
where where we can talk.”
“Where?” asked Jerry. “Where
are you staying? Here?”
I “It’s almost time for lunch,”
Laura said. For some reason she
could not tell him—yet—that she
was staying nowhere after eight
that evening.
“Okay, but I’ve got a couple of
bage someweher—dropped them
boy. “Shall I check them for you
now?’’
“I’ve got them sir,” said a beTT
outsile when I got out of the cab”
guess,” Jerry agreed. “I’ll worry
about them later. Thanks.”
As the bellboy ran off with Jer
“Sure, that’s the best idea. I
ry’s bags, the detective stepped
forward.
“If you’ll pardon me,” he said,
“we people in the hotel here get
mighty interested in seein’ you
two people get toge her, what with
your close connections and all.
We know you lon’t have any folks
in New York, and so we thought—
well, if you’ve got some other idea
it’s perfectly okay. You can do
whatever you like, of course, but
just in case you didn’t have any
thing to do specially—”
At that moment the bell boy
came back with the checks for
Jerry's bags.
“What’d they say?” the bellboy
asked the detective in a stage
whisper.
“Shhh,’’ w'hispered hack the le
tective, “I ain’t got around—” i.
“Luke’s having a hard time say
ing his speech,” Laura said. “Go
ahead, Luke. Whatever it is, I’m
sure it’s verf nice You've all been
so swell.”
“Well, here it is,” Luke said.
“Ther. may not be any regular
rooms in this hotel right now, but
there are private dining rooms,
and we—the bellboys and clerks
and loormen and all — sort of
thought you might like to have
lunch in one of them—as our
guests, see?”
“Why, Luke, that’s wonderful!”
Laura cried, and she felt tears in
her eyes. “Such swell people!”
“Gosh!” Jerry exclaimed.
“Rut is it all right, Luke?”
a«kel Laura. “Qoes the manage
“Say the manager and assistant
manager are both in on the deal,
too,” said the detective. “We told
! them about it. It’s all arranged
1 already. Even the chief knows.
I “He’s got something nice planned
I Of course, if theer’s something
I else you wanted to do—”
“We don’t know where to go,”
Jerry said. “And what wre want to
do is look at each other arid t lk
i to each other. Just lead the way,
j Luke!”
So Luke proudly led them to a
small private dining room where
a table for two was already 1 id.
And in a few minutes, two wait
ers appeared with trays contain
ing a delicious meal.
Rut Laura and Jerry really had
eyes and ears only for each other.
“I don’t like this a bit,” Jerry
said suddenly.
“Lon't like what?” demanded
Laura. “The meal? Why, Jerry,
it's marvelous!”
“Not the meal! It is wonderful!”
notice me—that’s all.”
Jerry muttered. “You don’t really
Laura laughed. “Why, Jerry,
you know perfectly well I’ve been
beaming at you like a lovesick
calf! What on earth are you talk
ing about?”
“Only these little things on ir.y
shoulders, that’s all." Jerry said.
“Nothing important!”
Laura jumped up. She really
had not noticed the captain’s bars
on Jerry’s shoulders.
“Captain Donaldson!" she
cried, throwing her arms around
him. “I’m so sorry!"
“And now,’’ Jerry said, “let's
get married this afternoon!”
Laura’s objection to Jerry’s
proposal was that she had to leave
that evening. She had put off tell
ing him this, had dreaded break
ing the news, but now she had to
—and that touched off their first
argument.
“This evening?" Jerry cried in
dismay. “Why, Laura, you just
can’t leave so soon!”
“The Army says I can and
will,’’ she replied.
“But listen—after I raced half
way around the world to you, you
can’t rush off in just a few
hours!”
“Jerry, don’t be silly. You
know there’s nothing I can do
about it. I’ve got orders and I’ve
got to follow them. It’s terrible to
have so little time together, but
let’s be thankful that you didn’t
arrive in New York tomorrow, af
ter I'd gone—and let's make the
most of this one afternoon.”
“Okay—that’s my idea exact
ly,” said Jerry. “Let’s get married
just as I said, and make this day a
really important one, even if it so
short.”
“We are sure of each other’s
love,” Laura said. “Surely mar
riage would make us no more cer
tain of one another. The ceremo
ny wouldn’t tie us any closer to
gether than we are. We’d be tied
tighter legally, but that is not
what we want, either one of us.
We want to be tied by our feel
ings and not any other way if our
feelings don’t hold us together.
Well, they do, so far as I am con
cerned!”
“Of course they do!" Jerry de
clared. “But there’s something
about marriage, Laura—something
more than just a mumbled cere
mony by a justice of the peace,
something—” *
“Sure, there’s more, plenty
more!” Laura agreed. “But only
when you can really live your
marriage. We can’t! Oh, I can see
where it might help a man a lot
to go off to war knowing; he’s got
u wife waiting for him at home.
But that’s not our case. I’m not
waiting at home for you. I’m go
ing off again myself.”
They found themselves on Fifth
Avenue, window shopping. It had
always been one of their favorite
pastimes together. So they en
joyed themselves for a while—un
til they saw a display of bridal
gowns.
They walked until they found
themselves in front of Radio City.
“Let’s look at the ice skaters,"
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Laura suggested.
Jerry came along, still reluctant
about giving up his marriage pro
ject. Laura could tell that he had
not completely given up hope.
It was six o’clock when they
found themselves in Central Park.
It was too late to do anything
about marriage now, and Jerry
knew it.
All too soon it was time for
Laura to leave. She and Jerry
took a taxi to her hotel to pick up
her bags, then to Hudson tube for
Hoboken.
It waa at the entrance to the
tube that they parted.
Jerry put his arms around her.
"I’m going to feel awfully lost
without you. I love you, Laura.
Don’t forget it for a minute. And
— ’ Jerry laughed and put his
head on one side—“it sounds sort
of funny for a man to be saying
to his girl, but I’ll be waiting for
you, darling.”
"You’ll be as busy as can be in
a couple of weeks,” Laura said.
Write me just as soon as you
know where you’ll be and what
you 11 be working at.”
“ S°,ng up to Buflfton for
while,' Jerry said. "I’ll see yoi
folks °f course. I’m to report t
Washington in two weeks. Prett
good guess that you’ll be based i
^°rth, ^fVca' ,„*?yin£ wounded
out of *taly- 111 start writing t
your APO address right away ”
Laura was in h
arms. Her lips sought his.
Laura, my love_”
“way from hin
snatched up her bags, and ra
,the, gate to the train. SI
did not look back.
away. tUrnCd Sl°Wly and walke
nr.The* *TXt day he wrote a sh<
note to Laura before takine t
train to Buffton. g
Not very satisfactory,”
thought, "writing like this. I km
f II Sr»°n a -Sh,p somewhere, tl*
all. Golly, it may still be sit*
Thiv 5ier»t?Ver there in Hobok.
They do that sometimes.”
tonh, fd-.no famil>’ now in Bu
l°n.' but * was where his fan,
had once lived, where he had liv
most of his life. Laura’s !
L he hadVhat hev!tay -ith th
Th J th kn°Jn they would.
They thought very highly
Jerry and wondered why Laura
had not married him i :ig 1 fore.
So Jerry had a sympathetic audi
ence when he told Mr. and Mrs.
Blake how he had tried to persu
ade Laura to marry him before she
sailed.
He saw his many old friends,
and spoke at the high school as a
returned hero. But he spent most
of the timg at the newspaper of
fice where he had once worked.
And then, at the end of three
days, he decided to leave Buffton.
There was nothing there for him,
nothing to hold him at all. He felt
(he same restlessness that Laura
had noted in herself on returning
But where to go? He didn’t!
want to go back to New Yor, and
he was not due in Washington for
days. Then he had an idea. He tel
ephoned Jim Moody at the News
papei office. Jim had a cabin in
the woods about fifty miles north
east of Buffton. It was still cold,
but Jerry decided that was where
he wanted to go.
He threw a few clothes into a
bag, said goodbye ami thanks to
Mrs. Blake, picked up the cabin
key. and caught a train for Talak
Junction. There he bought some
provisions, then hired a taxi to
drive him out to Jim’s cabin.
Tn Washington, he learned that
someone, wondering what to do
with this returned bomber pilot,
had looked over his record and
found out that he had been a news
paper man before entering the
army. So he was assigned to army
air forces public relations without
further ado.
A desk job!’’ Jerry groaned,
when he learned the news. “And
I ve been thinking it would be
bad to have to go to teaching. But !
at least an instructor has a
chance to fly.’’
Less than three weeks passed 1
before he asked for a'transfer. i
“Captain Donaldson,’’ said the
colonel who was his immediate
superior, “do you know that you
fellows who have come back from
fighting are terrible problems.”’
“Why not let us go back to
fighting, then?" Jerry asked. ’I
“Sometimes we do,-’’ the colonel
said. “But you completed a very
concentrated tour of duty only
recently. No—1 must turn down
your request. The only thing for
you now is a nice quite job where
you are proving yourself very
capable and helpful.”
Jerry went back to his “nice,
quiet job” cursing to himself
(TO BE CONTINUED)
ClumtHwil
minium
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