CHAPTER THREE
SUSPECTS
In the busy days that followed, Nancy, with the other girls of her unit, was plunged into the intensive work of preparing for service in the fighting zones. Fully alert to the importance of these instructions, Nancy worked even harder than she had during her nurse’s training. Here they must put the lectures and discussions into practice at once.
The day after her arrival there were lectures on military courtesy and customs of the service. They were told how to wear their uniforms, and how to recognize the various insignia of office.
In their room afterwards Nancy and Mabel had lots of fun practicing the military salute.
“You’ve got to learn to do it automatically,” said Mabel. “Your fingers should go to your forehead when you see a superior officer as instinctively as your foot goes to the car brake in an emergency.”
“And I suppose it will prove to be ‘a restriction’ emergency if you don’t,” Nancy came back with a laugh.
For the next day or two they saluted every time they passed each other in their room and had some good laughs over their actions.
“Tini Hoffman says she hates to salute,” Mabel confided. “She says it makes her feel inferior.”
“If Tini isn’t careful she’s going to get kicked out of this training camp,” Nancy said. “I don’t like her attitude one bit.”
“Neither do the instructors. But she’s got an uncle who’s a colonel or something—anyhow he’s one of the bigwigs in the training program.”