A roar of farewell from the soldiers a half hour later, a burst of speed and once again they were in the air.
For some time they were silent, then Mary said in a solemn voice:
“Scottie, I saw things in that field hospital today that I hope I may never see again, but I’ll never forget them. Never! Never!”
“Yes, I know,” Scottie replied.
There was another long silence. Then Scottie spoke: “I don’t often speak of it. War’s not a thing to be talked about, really, especially when you’re talking to a girl. But did you happen to notice those two boys in the far right-hand corner of the hospital?”
“Yes, I talked to them. Such nice boys. Both college men. They were fliers.”
“Yes, and ‘were’ is exactly the word. Neither of them will ever fly again and one will never even walk.”
“Terrible,” she murmured.
“It is terrible.” Scottie’s voice rose. “They were my buddies, those boys were. More than once we flew in the same formation. We were together when it happened. Want me to tell you?” he hesitated.
“Yes, tell me.” Her voice was low.