“Oh, Bayshore Bakery,” repeated Kitty without realizing that there was a sort of question mark in her tone.
“Yeah, I know all them rumors ’bout the bakery—just because they found some of their bread wrappers on that captured sub. And how could the bakery help that, I ask you?”
“No fault of theirs,” put in Beth Gilcrist, one of the town girls. “When they sell bread they can’t be responsible for where it goes.”
“Of course not. My Jim thinks they’re fine people at the bakery, fair and square and considerate of their employees. I can’t see where it’s any fault of theirs that the Germans were eating their bread. There’s a thousand ways they could have got it.”
As they rode toward the station Kitty didn’t doubt that she was right. There were a thousand ways the Germans might have got that bread, while she and Brad had been optimistic enough to hope they could discover the one way it had been done.
The girls were scarcely out of the station wagon with their sandwich trays slung over their shoulders, when they saw the smoke of the troop train far down the track. As if by magic people suddenly appeared from all directions to see the troops go through.
The Canteen workers had to do considerable elbowing to keep close enough to the track to serve the men. They tried to spread out so their wares would be available to all the coaches. However Kit and Beth found themselves side by side as they tried to keep the curious crowd from pushing them onto the track.
Suddenly Beth leaned close and whispered to Kitty, “Look to your left in a moment—that man’s been down here to see almost every troop train since I’ve been in Canteen work.”
Kitty glanced at the hard-featured man whom Beth indicated. In his broad-brimmed hat and knee boots he looked like a western cowhand, while his face was like some granite rock rising out of the mesa. Then in the push she lost sight of him. She and Beth separated as the train pulled into the station.
The boys already had their windows up, and were leaning out, waving at the crowd, calling greetings to the Canteen girls. Many of them had letters they wanted mailed. Eager hands reached down for the sandwiches and candy bars Kitty offered. They were not supposed to ask where the boys were going, but there was no law against asking where they had been. Kitty put that question to a sun-tanned chap, who thanked her so profusely for the sandwich and cigarettes.