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If she made any declarations, she’d cause a scene
If she merely went away, it would probably be days before any of the bedridden men noticed They had their own problems and pains to distract them, and the absence of one nurse out of thirty meant little to most of them Eventually someone would look up, scratch his head, and wonder, "What ever happened to Nurse Mercy?" and then Captain Sally would say, "She left Last week" At which point, the invalid would shrug
Mercy figured it was easier to ask forgiveness than perive her perh, and she understood She lowered her voice, even though they were in the wolad you’ve got your ’s papers, and the scraps of Union pension That’ll take you most of the way, I expect Their money’s worth more than ours"
Mercy said, "Ma’aive theet anything? You’ve cleaned out your bunk upstairsand you’ve tucked away the nursing papers, I hope? My recommendation letter will s of your trip, but there’s no telling what you’ll find out West"
She pro south, then up the river and west I have a plan"
"You’d better It’s a long trip, darling I’ll worry for you, and pray"
Mercy hugged her Then she h the first-floor ward, past the entry to the ballrooh the kitchen, and into the backyard groundsso that no one but the staff would see how she carried a suitcase and a large shoulder bag stitched with a distinctive red cross The suitcase she was taking had coinia; the other one had been the property of the hospital, so she was leaving it behind But the shoulder bag was a gift from Captain Sally In it, Mercy carried the basics of her profession, as well as her papers, her money, a few small books, letters, pencils, and other useful objects that made her feel prepared
At the curb to the side of the Robertson house, she stood squeezing her luggage and wondering where to begin, and how The entirety of her planning process amounted to little s first: She went to the Western Union office
The clerk at the counter took the envelope with her father’s e and read it, and while he perused the e back Toto Sheriff Wilkes, I guess Wherever this telegra"
The sh a pince-nez and told her, "I can certainly do that And I’m sorry to hear about your father," he added politely
He quoted her a price, which she paid from the cash that Sally had offered, an immediate severance payment, plus a bonus And with the help of the clerk, she composed a response to send back across three thousand miles
TO SHERIFF WILKES: PLEASE TELL JEREMIAH SWAKHAMMER THAT HIS DAUGHTER WILL COME TO JOIN HIM STOP THE JOURNEY MAY TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS STOP WILL SEND ANOTHER TELEGRAM WHEN MY ARRIVAL IS NEARER STOP
She couldn’t think of anything else to add, so she watched while the clerk transcribed her e and placed it into a box on his desk He explained that the telegraph operator was out of the office, but that when she returned, the e would be sent out across the lines
Mercy thanked his in hand and an intense nervousness in her heart--a steady fear that this was the wrong thing to do, and her father would probably be dead by the time she arrived, anyway
"But it’ll be an adventure," she said to herself, not soher pack over one shoulder, she stepped down off the Western Union’s wooden porch and into the street, where she dodged one speeding cab and leaned backwards to avoid a lurching wagon In the distance she could hear shouting, and warnings of inco-or-others headed for the hospital; she heard "Robertson" above the din, and her chest ached
She should drop this ridiculous o back, where she was needed
Even if she made it all the way West, and even if she made it to her father’s bedside, would they know each other? Her memories of him had distilled over sixteen years, down to blurs of color and a ruht of hi, she could recall glimpses of a wide-shouldered, brown-haired s But she remembered little of his face--only a scratchiness, froainst his
Maybe, then Maybe she’d know him
But would he know her? It’d been a lifetirown several feet, to a height that was just shy of "quite tall" for a worown to a darker shade that was closer to unpolished gold than to baby yellow The y liiven way to a frah for farm work, or hospital work She was not dainty, if in fact she ever had been
She hesitated at the edge of the street, recoiling froo back to the office to send another telegra But then she came back to her senses and resolved to write a letter and post it froiveness than per pants cried out the daily news He hefted a stack of papers up like a Roman shield and declared the latest known troop movements, wins, losses, and points of interest "Yankees rebuffed at Nashville!" he declared "Maxi peace force!"
She took a deep breath, picked the appropriate direction, and got walking The boy’s bellowing voice followed her "Mystery surrounds northwestern dirigible disappearance in Texas! Terrible stor Green!"
She shuddered and kept , four blocks past the narrow three-storied hotels and boardinghouses and the wider, lower shapes of banks and dry goods stores On the steps of a big white church stood apeople to come inside and repent, or join hi in which Mercy was not interested She stuck to the edge of the crowd and ignored hiiant steeple the color of bone