“Thought Tom would appreciate it,” replied his companion.
Nancy stared incredulously at the man. “Tom,” she repeated. “I had a brother named Tom. He was lost, too.”
She saw the men look at each other. “Tom Dale—your brother?” asked the flier who had given her her food.
She nodded.
“You can’t be—”
“Nancy Dale, Army Nurse,” she replied.
Suddenly a man in army clothes, turned sharply from where he held a can of food for Hilda, and stared at her. Then Nancy saw that the hair under his cap was snow white. Her eyes, so long conditioned to the glare, could see little when she was brought inside, but now she stared at this man incredulously. Was this another mirage? She brushed her hands across her hollow eyes and looked again.
“Take it easy,” said the white-haired man with the pale, thin face. “You’re going to be all right, Miss Nancy. I didn’t recognize you at first.”
“You can’t be Vernon,” she whispered.
“But I am,” he assured her. “You asked us to come out and look for Tommy and here we are.”