“We’re approaching land!” Nancy exclaimed eagerly.
“And look—there’re terns skimming the froth in our wake,” Mabel noticed.
An hour later planes came out to meet them, circling overhead, like guardian wings to watch them safely into port. And then at last their first glimpse of a foreign shore. Then a few minutes later the word went round, identifying the harbor in which they would land.
“It’s Sydney, they say, Mabel!” cried Nancy joyously. “I can hardly believe we’ve really reached Australia.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
A DREAM
Though there had been no one to bid them farewell there was plenty of welcome awaiting the Army Nurses on reaching Sydney. Australian Red Cross workers greeted the young women when they had marched down the long gangplanks. Cars were ready to drive them to the beautiful house, set amid lovely trees and flowers, where they were to stay temporarily.
The nurses had so long been accustomed to the motion of the ship that they now felt a little giddy and unsteady on their feet.
“I’ll surely be glad to get my legs adjusted to earth once more,” said Nancy.
“Feel as though I couldn’t walk straight,” Mabel complained. “Say, but isn’t this a swell joint,” she added, glancing around the lovely room to which she and Nancy had been assigned. There was everything for their comfort. The pretty curtains and bedspreads were a joy after the bareness of their ship cabin. The bath had a real tub in which they could compensate for weeks of indifferent bathing.