It took Marion some time to grasp the full horror of the Island. The spot was so beautiful that it made the realization more difficult.
True to her resolve, she had written at once to Silas, and as the hours went by, she consoled herself by thinking that Sallie must be safely at home, unless—and here a thrill of horror would cross her—unless she had died in the hospital before Silas could get the letter.
The thought of poor Sallie made her keenly alive to the sufferings of the unfortunates around her. That one glimpse of Sallie’s white face seemed to haunt her continually.
Over and over she marveled at the apparent indifference of the other nurses, and wondered if it were possible that she, too, would become hardened to her surroundings.
“I am afraid I shall become morbid,” she said to the head nurse in her ward one day. “I cannot drive the horrors of this Island out of my mind for a minute. It is fortunate for me that you keep me so busy.”
Miss Williams smiled sadly. She was a sweet-faced woman.
“You will be obliged to grow indifferent. It is your only safeguard,” she said, kindly. “An over-sympathetic nurse is never very successful.”
“I shall try not to show my feelings,” said Marion, quickly. “I know that would be fatal to success, Miss Williams, but I am almost certain that I can never help feeling.”
“Oh, but that is different,” was the cordial answer. “A nurse that cannot feel is a mere machine. She will do her work well, and to some patients this will be quite satisfactory, but to others, to the majority, sympathy is more than medicine. An encouraging word, or a kindly interest will heal the soul, which is often more stricken than the body. There is Katie B——,” she went on more softly. “Just see how that child hungers for a mother’s voice, yet she is a mother herself, the poor unfortunate. A nurse who would be cold to her would lose the child’s confidence altogether.”
“I understand you perfectly,” said Marion, slowly. “A nurse in Charity Hospital has something to do besides make beds and give medicines. She has human hearts to cheer and strengthen. Oh, I hope I may be wise enough not to throw away my opportunity.”