“Sounds all right.”
“And after that—”
“After that I’d like to run over to the airport for just a moment. Won’t take long. Want to check on some things.” Down deep in her heart Mary was hoping that Sparky would have things all fixed for her trip to Burma with the quinine. She really had her heart set on that trip. To visit a real battlefield, to see the men who for months had been fighting in mud and blood for victory.
That would be like visiting another world, something she’d never forget. And to be able to tell some of them that she had done a little, just a very little, to bring them new health and happiness. Ah! That surely would bring a thrill.
She and Judy were crossing the bridge as she thought all this. Arriving on the other side, she was surprised and shocked. Here, it is true, were the same grand, old palms, the sweeping drive and all that. But the people and their homes! Here were dirt, squalor, ragged children, slinking dogs, and shaggy monkeys staring down at her from the trees.
“Why don’t they kill the monkeys?” she asked. “Then there would be more for the people to eat.”
“Oh! You can’t do that! If you killed just one monkey you’d be mobbed.” Judy was shocked.
“In goodness name! Why?”
“The monkeys are sacred. Religion is a potent force to these people. But don’t let’s get started on that. Come on. Let’s go.” Judy hurried on.
Each filled with her own, long thoughts they wandered on and on. As the shadows darkened, the streets narrowed. At last they were in the very heart of the city.