The girl turned from the door and said, “Ring if you need me!”
A terrible strength began to flow through Sally. A strength which centered just under the skin and left her vitals hollow and quivering. It took ten precious minutes to dress. Inside, and with every motion of pulling on stockings, adjusting garters, smoothing her hair, inside, deep inside, her consciousness sang:
“Cub Sterling, you are not! You are not! Cub darling, I love you! I love you!”
The deep singing was like a walking cane as she started across the room for the door. She pulled the knob, hesitantly, ascertained the student nurse was out of sight, and gathering all of her strength, ran the few feet to the screen porch door. When her knees gave way she was on the concrete steps, halfway down to Ward A, and Ward A was the ground floor.
A wild mental clearing made her understand that with or without strength, she had to reach that porch off Ward A, get over the railing and drop to the ground, before the nurses began rolling the patients out for their afternoon airing.
Ten minutes later, a young girl, walking with an erectness every motion of which hurt, entered Otto’s restaurant and leaned against the deserted bar.
She fastened her violet eyes into Otto and said:
“I love Cub Sterling as much as you do. I think I can save him ... if you’ll lend me a dollar for two hours....”
The money was in her hand before Otto could open his lips. When he did open them, the girl was already in a taxi-cab, and the cab was coasting down the hill from the hospital.
When Miss Carruthers, in response to a telephone call, brought Evelina Kerr, student nurse, to Dr. MacArthur’s office, Matt Higgins rose from a chair and said: