CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A CALLER IN THE DARK
By the time Kitty was in sight of the hospital the storm had reachedgale proportions, and even the inland, sheltered waterways were whippedinto tumbling whitecaps.
“Shall I go straight to the unloading dock behind the hospital?” sheasked.
“Against regulations. Nothing’s supposed to come ashore there butsupplies.”
She was afraid Brad couldn’t walk to the hospital from any of the smalllanding docks farther east, but she decided he could wait in the boatwhile she went to their house for the car.
“It’ll probably be better to go ashore somewhere else anyhow,” she toldhim.
“Wish I didn’t have to go back to the hospital just now,” he said. “Ifit gets around that I was shot in the marshes, Lieutenant Cary will besure to hear about it—may put a crimp in drawing a noose around thecriminals’ necks.”
“Why didn’t I think of that before?” said Kitty. “I’ll take you to ourhouse. Surely Dad will be back from town by the time we get there.He’ll know what’s best to do.”
“I hate to be so much bother, but that does seem the most sensiblething. You can phone Dr. Williams. He’s the closest friend I have amongthe doctors. He’ll take care of the wound and keep his mouth shut, too.”
“Sure. That’s just what we’ll do.”
“I don’t have to report for duty till Monday. Nobody will get curiousabout me till then.”
When Kitty turned the bend in the channel and rounded the point onwhich the hospital stood, she thought she had never faced such ahowling gale. She glanced toward the island and saw that the hurricaneflag was flying.
Brad ducked his head and clung to the seat. Kitty anchored herself tothe wheel, and steered for the landing behind their cottage. Alreadylights were twinkling along shore, though enough twilight lingered forher to come in to the dock without too much uncertainty.
Never before had she attempted to make her moorings in such a choppysea. The stormy wind had forced the rising tide up rapidly. She wasglad of this for it would spare Brad a climb to the dock. She wasafraid the force of the storm would pound the launch against thepilings, so she cut off their motor and with the remaining oar workedtoward the lee side of the dock. It took all her skill to make anyprogress as she had to move straight into the teeth of the rushing windthat swept diagonally across the island. Brad was powerless to helpher, for his one hand was needed to hold himself to the seat.
“Don’t try to help!” Kitty called to him, as he started to crawlforward. “I’ll make it. The least little strain will start that placebleeding again.”
In spite of her warning after Kitty got the boat close enough Bradseized their line and tossed it deftly over a hook on the dock. Therope creaked and the boat quivered at the sudden restriction.
“Can you make it up the ladder?” Kitty asked anxiously.
There were only three or four steps to climb, but even that would be astrain on Brad in his weakened condition.
“Maybe you’d better go ahead and give me a hand,” he was forced toadmit. “Guess I’m no good.”
She hadn’t realized how weak he was until she tried to help him up thatladder. She had to pull him by his good arm every step of the way. Whenhe reached the dock he collapsed at her feet. Desperately she glancedtoward the village, hoping for help, but the storm had evidently driveneveryone to shelter. A small boat battled the gale half way betweenthem and the hospital, but the howling wind would drown her call forhelp.
She was afraid to leave him on the dock while she went for help. Thegale might grow strong enough any minute to sweep him into the water.There was danger of opening the wound again if she tried to move him,but she had no choice. Carefully she lifted his head against her knees,locked her hands under his arms and dragged him down the dock to theshelter of a twisted oak that grew on the shell bank.
She was already wet from the mist and spray and now rain came in asudden deluge. It mingled with the tears streaming down her cheeks asshe ran the block and a half to her home. With a thankful prayer shesaw that the lights were on. Jane, at least, must be there.
“Let me in!” she called, actually pounding the door with her fists.
Jane swung the door in almost at once. “Why, Miss Kitty, you looks likea scarecrow!”
“Is Dad here?”
“Yas’m. He sho is, an’ he just about on he haid cause you ain’t comehome.”
Her father was pulling on his raincoat as he came out of his room.
“Why Kitty, what’s wrong? Why are you so late?”
“Dad, we couldn’t help it. Brad’s shot!”
“Shot?”
“From the marshes.”
“Where is he now?”
“I got him ashore here—but couldn’t bring him any farther.”
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_She Helped Him Across the Dock_]
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“He’s not dead?”
“Oh, no! I mean I hope not. He must have fainted when I was helping himto the dock. He lost so much blood.”
“Which dock?”
“Ours—behind the house.”
“I’ll get the car. You’d better come, too, Jane. I don’t want Kitty tostrain herself, helping me lift him.”
Billy was already in bed, so Mr. Carter closed the door softly. “He’llbe all right. We’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll drop you two offhere before I take him on to the hospital.”
He hurried out to get the car and Kitty followed him saying, “But wedon’t want to take him to the hospital. He doesn’t want them to know.”
“What are you talking about, my child? That’s the place for him.”
“Not under the circumstances, Dad.”
Kitty tumbled into the car beside him, and Jane got into the back,praying aloud excitedly. Mr. Carter started the motor and they racedout the drive.
“Please do as I say, Dad,” persisted Kitty. “Just this once, Dad.There’s no time to tell you everything, but we’ve learned things thisafternoon that may put a stop to all this awful business.”
Mr. Carter made no reply for a moment, grimly intent upon his drivingin the rain. Finally he said, “I’ve been a fool, Kitty, to let you goahead and get into something like this.”
Kitty was too miserable over Brad to pay much attention to her father’srebuke. “There, he’s under the oak yonder,” she directed, when theyturned the corner and raced down the block.
They found Brad had recovered consciousness, and was sitting with hisback propped against the tree trunk.
“So silly of me to check out,” he apologized when they approached him.“I figured you’d gone for the car.”
“Think you can get in?” asked Mr. Carter.
“Sure,” Brad tried to make light of his weakness.
But he was a dead weight on Mr. Carter as he helped him to his feet.
“Guess you’ve lost a lot of blood, old boy. Where did they hit you?”
“Just under my shoulder blade. Kitty bound it up, but I’d spilledplenty before she got a chance to do that.”
Kitty breathed easier when he was in the front seat beside her father.She and Jane sat in the back. Nothing more was said until Mr. Carterstopped the car in front of their house, instead of going into thedrive.
“Jane, you get out and stay with Billy. Kitty, you can come on up tothe hospital with us if you’d rather.”
There were tears in Kitty’s voice when she wailed, “But Dad, we don’twant them to know about this at the hospital!”
“This is no time to think of such things, Kitty. It’s quite evidentBrad will need a blood transfusion. The hospital is the proper placefor that.”
When Jane got out and her father drove on toward the hospital Kittycouldn’t keep the tears back. What a mess she had made of the wholebusiness! If s
he had known Brad must go to the hospital it would havebeen so much easier to stop at the supply dock, regulations or noregulations. Now everybody at the hospital would know, anyhow, that hehad been shot. How the talk would fly from mouth to mouth.
Even if Punaro wasn’t the guilty party he would learn about it. If hewas really in league with Beeson he, in turn, would get the facts, andsurmise that they had visited Terrapin Island again. In that event shefeared for Uncle Mose’s safety. But after all, she thought finally,what did any of this matter compared with Brad’s welfare?
Her father had a stretcher brought down to take Brad to the emergencyroom. As Kitty followed into the hospital she said, “Dad, if Brad’sblood is type one I’ll be glad to give him blood for a transfusion.”
Her father turned and flashed her a smile. “Thanks, Kitten. But I thinkwe have a generous supply of all types here. I’ll go on to theemergency room and see what his condition is.”
“Oh, Dad, I don’t think I can stand it if Brad dies. It’s all my fault.I was the one who suggested going out there today.”
“Stop blaming yourself, my child, for everything that goes wrong!”
He took a key from his pocket. “Here’s the key to my office. Wait upthere where it’s quiet. I’ll come up later and tell you how Bradis—and I want to hear all about what happened.”
Kitty was glad he had thought of this, for her wet clothes and troubledface would certainly invite questions from any friends who might seeher. She hurried out to the wing and up the steps to the second floor,instead of taking the elevator.
She had never been in the administrative wing at night when everyonewas off duty. There was light in only one office as she went down theshort hall on the upper floor. Strangely enough she felt more nervousthere than she had in the lonely marshes before the shooting. She wastempted to turn back and go to Hazel’s room, but she knew that wouldinvite questions and call for explanations, for which she was in nomood at the moment. In her father’s office she could be quiet to calmherself after so much excitement and strain.
She unlocked the door and touched the light button. She crossed to herfather’s desk chair and sat down a moment. She felt she couldn’t livethrough this interval while waiting to hear about Brad. To divert hermind she reached for a book in a rack at the back of the desk. Itproved to be a medical tome, whose language seemed dry as dust to herexcited mind.
In the basket at the right of the desk were some addressed envelopesand a stack of orders that had been made up and signed by her father,but had not yet been mailed. Her eyes ran down the list of drugs andsupplies that had been ordered.
While sitting there she suddenly shivered, and realized her clotheswere wet through. Noticing one of her father’s coats hanging on a rackin the corner, she put it on, and went to the big armchair near thewindow. She took off her wet shoes and socks and tucked her feet underher woollen skirt until they were warm.
The chair faced the window and as she sat there she recalled that herfather had pointed out the location of Mangrove Island from that verywindow. How long ago it seemed! She wondered if Punaro, or whoever hadshot at them, was still out there.
Wind shook the window as it came howling in from the sea. The rain hadstopped, however, and Kitty wondered if she could see anything acrossthe marshes at night. She padded across the office on bare feet andswitched off the light. While her eyes became accustomed to thedarkness she sat on the window ledge peering out, wondering if the Nazispies would dare come ashore in such a storm to pick up their loot.Would anyone be so foolhardy?
The night was impenetrably black under lowering clouds. She could seenothing except the glow at the Marine Base to the east, and a few houselights in the settlement around the hospital.
Then anxiety for Brad swept over her again. There was no use trying tothink of anything else. Unhappily she sank back into the leather chair.She pulled her father’s coat closer about her, sat on her feet againand was soon comfortably warm. The wind came in from the sea like giantbreakers rolling up a beach. It crashed against the big building, thenthere would be a momentary lull before the next gust came. To Kitty’salarm, now that she paused to listen, each blast seemed worse than theone that had just struck. As soon as she heard from Brad they would goback to the cottage for Billy and Jane. She had been through too manystorms on the Gulf coast to feel safe in a small house on a night likethis.
Under the circumstances it didn’t seem possible she could have dozed,but Kitty came to herself with a start at the sound of a key in thedoor. Instantly she was on the alert. Her father had given her his key.If it were he, she thought, he would have rapped and called to her tolet him in. Cautiously she crouched deeper in the leather chair.
As the door swung inward noiselessly she saw by the light from the halla tall familiar form step into the room. He closed the door softly,then switching on a flash he moved quickly toward the desk. As theflashlight circled about the desk top for a moment it tilted so thatreflected illumination struck the sneak’s face. Her surmise had beencorrect; it was Lieutenant Cary.
In the dark corner the terrified girl watched breathlessly. Her eyeswere just above the chair back, as Cary examined the order blanks inthe large basket on the desk. Apparently finding what he wanted, hetook up the sheaf of papers and buttoned them under his coat.
Kitty was almost beside herself with terror. So it was really Cary whodid the underhand business that got both the Chief Pharmacist’s Matesinto trouble. She couldn’t let him get away with it. But what in theworld could she do in her defenseless position?
Lieutenant Cary was almost at the door when, without any premeditation,Kitty found herself saying in the fiercest tone she could command,“Don’t move another step, Lieutenant Cary, or I’ll shoot!”
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_“Don’t Move or I’ll Shoot!”_]
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