Cherry Ames 02 Senior Nurse Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mildred Burnham sarcastically.
    Cherry wondered what her blood pressure was at that point. She got to her feet and walked away.
    In a moment she felt a little ashamed of herself. She was the older, she at least should keep her temper in hand. She should, for instance, get another cup of tea and return to that insolent girl, instead of letting their first encounter end on a sour note. Get off to a bad start and the year ahead could be unbearable.
    But Cherry’s feet were taking her to the door and out of the lounge. She could not help it—she really did dislike that girl. In a ruffled temper, she headed for the basement.
    Down in the basement, in its dim lights and brick walls, with its blocks-long labyrinth of winding corridors which criss-crossed unexpectedly, Cherry automatically T W O S T R A N G E P E O P L E

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    started down the underground short-cut to Crowley.
    Still under Spencer, she passed the sputum room where tubercular waste articles were carefully burned. She passed busy utility rooms, and the big kitchens. But soon the tunnel she traveled grew deserted. She kept glancing up at the pipes overhead, following the green one. Green pipes carried water, red carried steam, yellow carried gas, and there were two more pipes she could not identify. She passed the last room, the boiler room, and now the tunnel grew narrow. She must be somewhere under the yard. Her footsteps rang out in the stillness.
    Suddenly about thirty yards ahead of her a man darted out of the wall. Cherry jumped, then realized he had come from some corridor which she did not know existed. He whirled around wildly, looking hastily in all directions, then came running toward her. Cherry could not make out his face at this distance. He wore no white coat but a dark business suit, and he was powerfully built. The thought crossed her mind that he might be an escaped patient from Psychiatric. Or he might be an hysterical patient trying to run away. She ordered herself not to be frightened: a nurse knew many ways to handle hysterical people. Nevertheless Cherry glanced behind her: the tunnel back to Spencer stretched a silent endless way. The man was running nearer and nearer.
    He was shouting something at her now and waving his 36
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    arms. Panic-stricken, Cherry broke into a run, back toward Spencer.
    But she could not run fast enough. The man was gaining on her. She could hear his approaching footsteps, heavier than her own, above the crackle of her apron and her own panting. The man cried out again. Suddenly his footsteps rang out faster and harder, and a hand closed on her arm.
    Cherry, dripping with perspiration, swayed against the wall. All she could think was how cold the brick felt against her overheated body. Then her blurred vision cleared and she looked up.
    “You idiot,” the man was saying. Cherry looked again and blinked. It was the young doctor who had scattered her towels all over the ward and chased Lucy’s rabbit! “I merely asked you which way! I was lost.”
    “Sorry.” Cherry’s panting was dying down and she relaxed. Then she giggled. “You look wild enough to scare anyone.” His sandy-colored hair stood on end, and his emphatic black brows were drawn together.
    “Don’t tell me—” he started belligerently.
    “I’ll tell you if I want to!” Cherry shot back. “I don’t know what it is about you, but you make me see red!” He leaned against the wall and grinned happily at her.
    “It seems that’s the way to make you notice me. I’ll remember to infuriate you, if necessary.” He took out T W O S T R A N G E P E O P L E

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    his handkerchief and fanned her with it. “Still scared?
    Still mad?”
    “Well, to be honest, no.” They smiled slowly at each other.
    “I’ve been looking high and low for you all week,” he announced. “I almost decided you had been a beautiful mirage and didn’t actually exist.” His keen eyes searched her face. He asked her abruptly,