The nurses found the hall of the floor they had taken over jammed with baggage brought over from their basic training camp. Nancy’s and Mabel’s foot lockers had already been placed in their room.
“Everything seems to run smooth as magic,” said Mabel. “Wish they’d let us go to the stores to get a few things.”
“I imagine we’ll be given time to get the last-minute necessities at the port of embarkation,” said Nancy. “I hear we have to take more shots and physical exams after we get there. That takes time.”
At eleven o’clock that night they marched aboard their Pullman, as Nancy had seen those soldiers file into the fatal eight cars less than six weeks earlier. It seemed incredible that she had learned so much in such a short time.
Though Nancy was generally ready for sleep she felt wide awake that night. She had no patience to wait till morning to learn whether they were traveling east or west.
Two nurses had been assigned to each lower berth and one to the upper. Nancy, Mabel and Tini had one section, so Nancy quickly volunteered to sleep in the lower with Mabel.
“You’re larger than either of us,” she said to Tini. “You’ll need more stretching room.”
“Thanks,” said Tini, accepting the favor as if she were really more entitled to it than the others. “I never slept with anyone—know I wouldn’t get a wink.”
When the two friends packed into the lower Nancy whispered, “I can hardly wait till morning to see whether we’re going east or west.”
“Would seem too good to be true to be sent to the South Pacific,” said Mabel.