He crinkled his long nose and sniffed, “Poison! Little nurses mustn’t ask big questions! ’Night!”
His smile was broad, and forced.
By ten ... Rose looked at her radio-light watch ... the ward had “bedded down” and the rain had diminished to occasional drippings. Everything was cool and still. Miss Kerr had settled down to doing her fever charts at the desk. Occasionally, she turned and peered into the darkened ward, and Rose felt her looking at her bed, inquiringly.
She lay on her back, stretched her legs, put her arms at her sides, little girl fashion, and began to breathe deeply. Perhaps if she did that for thirty counts, she would drift off to sleep. If she buckled. ... she’d show ’em. Begin to get some rest ... plenty of it ... it had been a long day ... a trying evening ... now everything was peaceful and everybody was beginning to sleep.
But if she dared to go to sleep, why couldn’t the person ... whoever it was ... come while she was asleep and ... and....
She reached for her glass of water and took a drink. Her lips were so dry it hurt to open them. This was foolish. How was her heart doing? She took her pulse and discovered it was 106. Perhaps she had better have a potion after all.
She looked toward the desk. Miss Kerr wasn’t there!
»VI«
The Second Doll
At nine o’clock Dr. Harrison entered the hospital through the accident room door and started up the main corridor. The last of the nurses and internes were returning from breakfast, the morning sun as they passed the occasional windows was picking each face out of its oblivion and then throwing it back again.
Dr. Harrison shivered. The faces looked as the faces did upon the streets of every city in the United States the morning after the Lindbergh baby had been found....