Sunny Slopes

  CHAPTER XII

  THE LAND O' LUNGERS

  "Is Mrs. Duke in?"

  David looked up quickly as the door opened. He saw a fair petulantface, with pouting lips, with discontent in the dark eyes. He did notknow that face. Yet this girl had not the studied cheerfulness ofmanner that marks church callers at sanatoriums. She did not looksick, only cross. Oh, it was the new girl, of course. Carol had saidshe was coming. And she was not really sick, just threatened.

  "Mrs. Duke is over at the Main Building, but will be back very soon.Will you come in and wait?"

  She came in without speaking, pulled a chair from the corner of theporch, and flounced down among the cushions. David could not restraina smile. She looked so babyishly young, and so furiously cross. ToDavid, youth and crossness were incongruous.

  "I am Nancy Tucker," said the girl at last.

  "And I am Mr. Duke, as you probably surmise from seeing me on Mrs.Duke's porch. She will be back directly. I hope you are not in ahurry."

  "Hurry! What's the use of hurrying? I am twenty years old. I've gota whole lifetime to do nothing in, haven't I?"

  "You've got a lifetime ahead of you all right, but whether you aregoing to do nothing or not depends largely on you."

  "It doesn't depend on me at all. It depends on God, and He said,'Nothing doing. Just get out and rust the rest of your life. We don'tneed you.'"

  "That does not sound like God," said David quietly.

  "Well, He gave me the bugs, didn't He?"

  "Oh, the bugs,--you've got them, have you? You don't look like it. Ididn't know it was your health. I thought maybe it was just yourdisposition."

  David smiled winningly as he spoke, and the smile took the sting fromthe words.

  "The bugs are worse on the disposition than they are on the lungs,aren't they?"

  "Well, it depends. Carol says they haven't hit mine yet." He liftedhis head with boyish pride. "She ought to know. So I don't argue withher. I am willing to take her word for it."

  Nancy smiled a little, a transforming smile that swept the discontentfrom her face and made her nearly beautiful. But it only lasted amoment.

  "Oh, go on and smile. It did me good. You can't imagine how muchbetter I felt directly."

  "There's nothing to make me smile," cried Nancy hotly.

  "You may smile at me," cried Carol gaily, as she ran in. "How do youdo? You are Miss Tucker, aren't you? They were telling me about youat the office."

  "Yes, I am Miss Tucker. Are you Mrs. Duke? You look too young for aminister's wife."

  "Yes, I am Mrs. Duke, and I am not a bit too young."

  "I asked them if I should call a doctor, and they said that could waita while. First of all, they said, I must come to Room Six and meet theDukes."

  Carol looked puzzled. "They didn't tell me that. What did they wantus to do to you?"

  "I don't know. I just said, 'Well, I guess I'd better get a doctor tocome and kill me off,' and they said, 'You go over to Number Six andmeet the Dukes.'"

  "They said lovely things about you," Carol told her, smiling. "Andthey say you will be well in a few months,--that you haven't T. B.'s atall yet, just premonitions."

  The good news brought no answering light to the girl's face.

  "They are nurses. You can't believe a word they say. It is theirbusiness to build up false hopes."

  "When any one tells me David is worse, I think, 'That is a wickedstory'; but when any one says, 'He is better,' I am ready to fall on myknees and salute them as messengers from Heaven," said Carol.

  One of the sudden dark clouds passed quickly overhead, obscuring theglare of the sunshine, darkening the yellow sand.

  "I hate this country," said Nancy Tucker. "I hate that yellow hotsand, and the yellow hot sun, and the lights and shadows on themountains. I hate the mountains most of all. They look so abominablycock-sure, so crowy, standing off there and glaring down on us as ifthey were laughing at our silly little fight for health."

  Carol was speechless, but David spoke up quickly.

  "That is strange; Carol and I think it is a beautiful country,--thebroad stretch of the mesa, the blue cloud on the mountains, the shadowin the canyons, and most of all, the sunshine on the slopes. We thinkthe fight against T. B.'s is like walking through the dark shade in thecanyons, and then suddenly stepping out on to the sunny slopes."

  "I know you are a preacher. I suppose it is your business to talk likethat." Then when Carol and David only smiled excusingly, she said,"Excuse me, I didn't mean to be rude. But it is hideous, and--I loveto be happy, and laugh,--"

  "Go on and do it," urged David. "We've just been waiting to hear youlaugh."

  "You should have been at the office with me," said Carol. "We laugheduntil we were nearly helpless. It is that silly Mr. Gooding again,David. He isn't very sick, Miss Tucker,--he just has red rales. Idon't know what red rales are, but when the nurses say that, it meansyou aren't very sick and will soon be well. But Gooding is what hecalls 'hipped on himself.' He is always scared to death. He admitsit. Well, last night they had lobster salad, a silly thing to have ina sanatorium. And Gooding ordered two extra helpings. The waiterdidn't want to give it to him, but Gooding is allowed anything he wantsso the waiter gave in. In the night he had a pain and got scared. Herang for the nurses, and was sure he was going to die. They had to situp with him all night and rub him, and he groaned, and told them whatto tell his mother and said he knew all along he could never pullthrough. But the nurse gave him some castor oil, and made him take it,and finally he went to sleep. And every one is having a grand timewith him this morning."

  Nancy joined, rather grudgingly, in their laughter.

  "Oh, I suppose funny things happen. I know that. But what's the useof laughing when we are all half dead?"

  "I'm not. Not within a mile of it. You brag about yourself if youlike, but count me out."

  "Hello, Preacher! How are you making it to-day?"

  They all turned to the window, greeting warmly the man who stoodoutside, leaning heavily on two canes.

  "Miss Tucker, won't you meet Mr. Nevius?"

  In response to the repeated inquiry, David said, "Just fine thismorning. How are you?"

  "Oh, I am more of an acquisition than ever. I think I have a bug in myheart." He turned to Miss Tucker cheerfully. "I am really the prideof the institution. I've got 'em in the lungs and the throat and thedigestive apparatus, and the bones, and the blood, and one doctorincludes the brain. But I flatter myself that I've developed them in abrand-new place, and I'm trying to get the rest of the chasers to takeup a collection and have me stuffed for a parlor ornament."

  "How does a bug in the heart feel?"

  "Oh, just about like love. I really can't tell any difference myself.It may be one, it may be the other. But whichever it is I think Ideserve to be stuffed. Hey, Barrows!" he called suddenly, balancinghimself on one cane and waving a summons with the other. "Come across!New lunger is here, young, good-looking. I saw her first! Hands off!"

  Barrows rushed up as rapidly as circumstances permitted, and lookedeagerly inside.

  "It is my turn," he said reproachfully. "You are not playing fair. Isay we submit this to arbitration. You had first shot at MissLandbury, didn't you?"

  "I am not a nigger baby at a county fair, three shots for ten cents,"interrupted Nancy resentfully. But when the others laughed at herready sally, she joined in good-naturedly.

  "You don't look like a lunger," said Barrows, eying her critically.

  "Mr. Duke thinks I came out for the benefit of my disposition."

  "Good idea." Nevius jerked a note-book from his pocket and made ahurried notation.

  "Taking notes for a sermon?" asked Carol.

  "No, for a sickness. That's where I'll get 'em next. I hadn'tthought of the disposition. Thank you, thank you very much. I'll haveit to-morrow. Bugs in the disposition,--sounds medical, doesn't it?"

  "Oh, don
't, Mr. Nevius," entreated Carol. "Don't get anything thematter with your disposition. We don't care where else you collectthem, as long as you keep on making us laugh. But, woodman, spare thatdisposition."

  Nevius pulled out the note-book and crossed off the notation. "Thereit goes again," he muttered. "Women always were a blot on theescutcheon of scientific progress. Just to oblige you, I've got toforego the pleasure of making a medical curiosity of myself. Well,well. Women are all right for domestic purposes, but they sure are acheck on science."

  "They are a check on your bank-book, too, let me tell you," saidBarrows quickly. "I never cared how much my wife checked me up onscience, but when she checked me out of three bank-accounts I drew theline."

  "Speaking of death," began Nevius suddenly.

  "Nobody spoke of it, and nobody wants to," said Carol.

  "Miss Tucker suggests it by the forlornity of her attitude. And sinceshe has started the subject, I must needs continue. I want to tell yousomething funny. You weren't here when Reddy Waters croaked, were you,Duke? He had the cottage next to mine. I was in bed at the timewith--well, I don't remember where I was breaking out at the time, butI was in bed. You may have noticed that I have what might be called aclassic pallor, and a general resemblance to a corpse."

  Nancy shivered a little and Carol frowned, but Nevius continuedimperturbably. "The undertaker down-town is a lunger, and a nervouswreck to boot. But he is a good undertaker. He works hard. Maybe heis practising up so he can do a really artistic job on himself when thetime comes. Anyhow, Reddy died. They always come after them when therest of us are in at dinner. It interferes with the appetite to seethe long basket going out. So when the rest were eating, old Bennettcomes driving up after Reddy. It was just about dark, that dusky,spooky time when the shadows come down from the mountains and cover upthe sunny slopes you preachers rave about. So up comes Bennett, and hegot into the wrong cottage. First thing I knew, some one softly pushedopen the door, and in walked Bennett at the front end of the longbasket, the assistant trailing him in the rear. I felt kind of weak,so I just laid there until Bennett got beside me. Then I slowly roseup and put out one cold clammy hand and touched his. Bennett chokedand the assistant yelled, and they dropped the basket and fled. I rangthe bell and told the nurse to make that crazy undertaker come and getthe right corpse that was patiently waiting for him, and she called himon the telephone. Nothing doing. A corpse that didn't have any betterjudgment than that could stay in bed until doomsday for all of him. Sothey had to get another undertaker. But Bennett told her to get thebasket and he would send the assistant after it. But I held it forransom, and Bennett had to pay me two dollars for it."

  His auditors wiped their eyes, half ashamed of their laughter.

  "It is funny," said Nancy Tucker, "but it seems awful to laugh at suchthings."

  "Awful! Not a bit of it," declared Barrows. "It's religious. Doesn'tit say in the Bible, 'Laugh and the world laughs with you, Die and theworld laughs on'?"

  "I laugh,--but I am ashamed of myself," confessed Carol.

  "What do women want to spoil a good story for?" protested Nevius."That's a funny story, and it is true. It is supposed to be laughedat. And Reddy is better off. He had so many bugs you couldn't tellwhich was bugs and which was Reddy. He was an ugly guy, too, and hewas stuck on a girl and she turned him down. She said Reddy was allright, but no one could raise a eugenical family with a father as uglyas Reddy. He didn't care if he died. Every night he used to flip up acoin to see if he would live till morning. He said if he got off aheadof us he was coming back to haunt us. But I told him he'd better flywhile the flying was good, for I sure would show him a lively race upto the rosy clouds if I ever caught up. I knew if he got there firsthe'd pick out the best harp and leave me a wheezy mouth organ. Healways wanted the best of everything."

  Just then the nurse opened the door.

  "Barrows and Nevius," she said sternly. "This is the rest hour, andyou are both under orders. Please go home at once and go to bed, or Ishall report to Mrs. Hartley." When they had gone, she lookedsearchingly into the face of the brand-new chaser. "How are youfeeling now?" she asked.

  "Oh, pretty well." And then she added honestly, "It really isn't asbad as I had expected. I think I can stand it a while."

  "Have you caught a glimpse of the sunny slopes yet?"

  Instinctively they turned their eyes to the distant mountains, with thewhite crown of snow at the top, and beneath, long radiating lines ofalternating light and shadow, stretching down to the mesa.

  "The shadows look pretty dark," she said, "but the sunny slopes arethere all right. But I was happy at home; I had hopes and plans--"

  "Yes, we all did," interrupted David quickly. "We were all happy, andhad hopes and plans, and-- But since we are here and have to stay,isn't it God's blessing that there is sunshine for us on the slopes?"