Cherry Ames 22 Rural Nurse (3 page)

GUEST AT AUNT CORA’S

15

“I’ll be quick,” Cherry promised.

Cherry freshened up in a hurry, brushed her dark curls until they shone, and put on a crisp red and white gingham dress.

As they strolled the few blocks to downtown, the three women stopped to chat with friends along the way. Their neighbors were just coming out on their porches in the early evening. “Anybody for a picnic and swimming party, tomorrow or Monday?” Aunt Cora asked several young people. The Drew sisters accepted right away, and asked whether the picnic could be Sunday. They, and the Anderson young people, had made plans to visit relatives on Labor Day. Passing Dr. Clark’s white frame house on Main Street, Cherry decided to ask the housekeeper to tell Dr. Miller: “Picnic
tomorrow
.”

On the rest of their walk down Main Street they met a crowd. Farmers with their entire families had driven in for Saturday night in town. The few stores were open and brightly lighted, jammed to the doors with shop-pers. Boys and girls crowded into the one movie the-atre and stood three deep around the drugstore soda fountain. Cherry overheard someone say there was a dance starting for the young folks one block over, at the school.

Smith’s Restaurant was the last building in the row of stores and upstairs offi ces. Beyond, in shadow now, were the bank, the post offi ce, the public library, and the courthouse with lights burning in the sheriff ’s offi ce. Cherry looked toward the courthouse 16
CHERRY

AMES,

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NURSE

for the windows of her offi ce, through the dark trees, until her aunt nudged her. They went into the restaurant.

Smith’s had a busy lunchroom counter in front, and in back, a dining room with tables and a few booths.

“The dining room is nearly always empty,” Mrs. Grisbee said. “It’s a dandy place to gossip.” Mostly they talked about plans for tomorrow’s picnic, over platters of steak sandwiches and homegrown tomatoes, and about Mrs. Grisbee’s visit this summer with her sister in Missouri, just south across the Des Moines River and the state line. They discussed Cherry’s new job, and her new little car, waiting for her in Michaels’ Garage. Half of the car was a present from her dad, the other half she’d paid for herself out of sav-ings. The county, which employed her, would pay her mileage allowance for operating the car on her calls to patients. The car was bright blue, small, inexpensive to run, and easy to park. Cherry was immensely pleased with it. On their walk home she peeked in the garage to see it. Mrs. Grisbee said her car could stay parked overnight where it was. Cherry and Aunt Cora left Mrs. Grisbee at her house—Cherry could smell the spicy herbs from her herb garden, somewhere in the dark. Then Cherry and Aunt Cora went home.

Aunt Cora systematically telephoned for miles around about the picnic, with Cherry sitting beside her. Not many young persons were at home on a warm, starry Saturday night. Those who were at home accepted with glee.

GUEST AT AUNT CORA’S

17

“Well,” said Aunt Cora, half an hour later, “I’ll try telephoning again bright and early tomorrow morning.

I think plenty will be glad to go.” Aunt Cora went to the open door, stepped out on the porch, and looked up at the night sky. Stars were out in profusion, and hanging over the treetops was a big, yellow, harvest moon.

“You’ll have a fi ne day tomorrow,” she said to Cherry beside her.

“I think we’ll have a fi ne day in more ways than the weather, Aunt Cora.”

“Deader than a doornail” was how Aunt Cora described her home town. Considering that Sauk was a very small farming town in the southeast corner of Iowa, close to where the Des Moines River fl ows down into the Mississippi, Aunt Cora was right. Except on this fi ne Sunday morning! Right after church, four cars full of young persons stirred up a great deal of laughter and excitement, assembling in front of Cora Ames’s house. They were loaded down with picnic baskets, bathing suits, cameras, a guitar that belonged to plump Joe Mercer—and they raised a cheerful hullabaloo in getting acquainted with Cherry and Dr. Hal. Neighbors on their way home from church stopped, stared, and smiled.

The four cars sped off and the carefree picnickers burst into song. Cherry was squeezed in the second car—Dr. Hal’s car—with the Van Tine brothers and the Drew girls. In two minutes fl at they had left Sauk, and were rolling along on the open highway. Riverside 18
CHERRY

AMES,

RURAL

NURSE

Park was some ten miles away, “kerplunk in the middle of our territory,” Dr. Hal said. The sun beat down, the fi elds were still green with the crops of late summer.

Dick Van Tine said their father was already getting ready to plant a stand of winter wheat.

The road followed along the broad Des Moines River, as it came fl owing down from still farther west and north. Road and river turned together, and their four cars passed an overgrown farm, with a rickety farmhouse standing far back from the highway. Cherry could see the blue river glinting behind the farmhouse.

Then they drove past a woods, and turned into the dirt roadway of Riverside Park.

Once this site had been a forest where Indians camped and fi shed. It still was half wild, except for a few picnic tables, a log house with lockers for bathers, and an outdoor telephone booth. Cherry went with Dr. Hal while he hunted up a lean youth who was rent-ing rowboats at the river’s edge.

“Hello, Ezra,” the young doctor said. “Do you know our new county nurse?” He introduced Cherry. “Ezra, Dr. Clark is out of town for the holiday weekend, and anyway I’m always on county call. I’ve instructed his housekeeper, and also the telephone operators, in case there’s an emergency, to phone me here at the park.

I’m the only doctor available around here this weekend. You’ll be sure to let me know if a call comes in?”

“Sure thing, Dr. Miller.”

The youth turned back to his rowboats. Dr. Hal and Cherry rejoined their new friends.

GUEST AT AUNT CORA’S

19

Swimming came fi rst on the program. The water felt warm with the sun on it. On the opposite shore, the neighboring state of Missouri was so near at one point, where the river narrowed, that three of the young men swam across and back. “We’ve just been to Missouri,” they announced. “Sorry we didn’t think to send you postcards.”

After drying off in the sun and getting dressed again, they all had lunch. It tasted especially good outdoors.

Then the picnickers split up to do a variety of things.

Cherry, Dr. Hal, and roly-poly Joe Mercer wanted to go exploring.

Starting off by themselves, they walked along the river’s edge. Presently Joe Mercer announced, “Excuse me, but I’m going back to eat that last piece of apple pie before the squirrels get it.” He jogged off, leaving Cherry and Dr. Hal laughing.

“Well, I don’t mind being a twosome,” Dr. Hal said gallantly to Cherry.

They strolled along the shore, sometimes ducking under low branches, pausing to admire fern and the fi rst red berries of autumn. They had not gone far when something in deep shadow caught Cherry’s attention.

“What’s that?” she said. “Let’s go see.” She pushed through underbrush several paces inland. Dr. Hal, following her, pointed out a few fl at, worn rocks that suggested an old trail. “But I don’t see anything, Cherry.”

“If you’ll help me pull this low branch aside—” 20
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AMES,

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NURSE

They swung the half concealing branch to one side, and before them yawned the low, rocky opening of a cave. Its interior was inky black.

“I didn’t know there was a cave here, so close to the river,” Dr, Hal said. “And I’ve been to this park a few times.”

“It certainly is dark in there,” said Cherry. She already had one foot inside the cave. “Come on! I thought you wanted to explore.”

“Careful,” Dr. Hal said. He struck a match, and they entered the cave together. Dr. Hal had to stoop to get in.

The cave was low ceilinged, small, and craggy.

Cautiously, step by step, they walked deeper into the cave. The air was chill and damp. Dr. Hal struck more matches, and the fl ame threw grotesque shadows.

When Cherry spoke, her voice sent back whispery echoes.

“We’d better not go too far in. I can’t see any end to this.” Sometimes a cave led into an interior cave, and still another, like a catacomb of rooms. It might be unsafe to go farther.

“I think I see something,” Dr. Hal muttered. “Just ahead if my matches hold out—”

Dr. Hal sprinted forward. Cherry followed him. They were brought to a halt by a wooden barrier.

“It’s nothing but an old barn door,” Dr. Hal said disgustedly. He examined it, shook it, but it held fi rm.

“Someone wedged it in here pretty tight, I guess,” he said. “Or this old barn door has been left in here for so long that it’s half sunk into the cave walls by now.”

GUEST AT AUNT CORA’S

21

“Why would anyone drag an old barn door in here?” Cherry wanted to know.

“Oh, kids do things like that when they’re playing.

Didn’t you ever play cops and robbers, or hide-and-seek, in places like this? I used to. Well, this is the far end of the cave, I guess.”

“Or is it?” Cherry asked. “Could that old barn door be the door
to
something?” Dr. Hal knocked on the rotting wood. “It doesn’t sound as if there’s anything on the other side,” he said.

“Only the back of the cave, at a guess.” His match went out, his last one.

Someone was calling them. The call came from near the mouth of the cave, a man’s voice shouting:

“Doc-tor! Doc-tor!”

Cherry and Dr. Hal groped their way as fast as they could toward the patch of daylight at the cave’s opening. There stood Joe Mercer, puffi ng and puzzled.

“Oh, so that’s where you disappeared to!” Joe Mercer said. “I’ve been hollering all around here. Ezra has a telephone message for you, Doctor. Emergency.”

“Thanks.” Dr. Hal started off at a run. Cherry hurried after him, hoping that the holiday emergency was not more than one doctor and one nurse could handle.

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c h a p t e r i i i

Jane’s Story

once dr. hal had ezra’s message, he and cherry were obliged to say good-bye to their guests. “Come back if you can,” their friends called, as Cherry and Hal drove out of Riverside Park. On the way back to town Dr. Hal told Cherry what the message was.

Half an hour before a young woman, a stranger, had gotten off the train at Sauk. While carrying her suitcase and looking around for a telephone or a taxi, she had stumbled over a rut in the road. She had fallen and broken her ankle. A passer-by and the druggist had applied a temporary splint and carried her to Dr. Clark’s house. Dr. Clark’s housekeeper had telephoned Dr. Hal.

Dr. Hal planned to examine the patient and set the ankle in Dr. Clark’s well equipped medical offi ce, he told Cherry. “You’ll assist me,” he said. “Mrs. King—that’s the housekeeper—is helpful, but she’s not a nurse.” 23

24
CHERRY

AMES,

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NURSE

As soon as they arrived at Dr. Clark’s house, they quickly scrubbed, donned clean white cotton coats, and went into the examining room. A brown haired young woman was resting on a couch. Mrs. King, who was with the patient, had covered her with a light blanket and had already given her a cup of hot tea. The housekeeper looked relieved as the doctor and nurse came in.

“Dr. Miller, Nurse, this is Miss Jane Fraser. She’s just come here from New York to—to—”

“—to fall down and break my ankle,” the young woman said, and grinned in spite of her evident pain.

She was about Cherry’s age, very pleasant looking, trimly dressed in a cotton suit which had smears of dust and gasoline on it. “What a way to arrive!”

“Never mind, we’ll soon fi x you up,” Dr. Hal said.

He looked at the ankle, which was swelling. “You’re alone, Miss Fraser? Haven’t you anyone here to take care of you?”

“Well, I—Someone was supposed to meet me with a car, but he didn’t show up. I don’t know why.” The young woman swallowed hard. “I’m to stay at Mrs.

Barker’s house, out in the country. She’s the only person I know here. But she’s an old lady and can’t come to get me, and her son didn’t meet my train. Sorry to be thrown on your mercy.”

“That’s what we’re here for.” The tall young doctor smiled at her. “This is Cherry Ames, our county nurse.

Mrs. King, do you know our nurse?” Cherry smiled at the housekeeper and at the young woman. It was hard enough for anyone to sustain an
JANE’S

STORY

25

injury, but to be alone and helpless in a strange place must be hard indeed.

“You mustn’t worry, Miss Fraser,” said Cherry. “We’ll see that you reach Mrs. Barker’s, won’t we, Dr. Miller?” He nodded. “The doctor and I will come and check on how your ankle progresses.”

“That’s wonderful,” Jane Fraser said. She was so grateful that tears came to her eyes. “Mrs. King has already been so kind to me, you’re all so kind to a stranger. I—I can’t pay much, hardly anything for your—” Dr. Hal told her a reasonable fee could be arranged.

The housekeeper, after inquiring whether she would be needed further, left the room. Dr. Hal set to work.

This was the fi rst time Cherry had worked with Dr. Hal Miller on a fracture case. She was impressed with the skill and gentleness of his big hands. First, with her aid, he took an X-ray of the ankle, using Dr. Clark’s X-ray machine, then developed it. As Dr. Hal lightly probed the broken bones of the ankle with his fi ngertips, the pain made Jane hold tight to Cherry’s hands. Then Dr. Hal injected a local anesthetic. Very carefully, scowling with concentration, he set the ankle, bringing the bones into proper alignment with one another. Then, with Cherry assisting, Dr, Miller put a plaster cast on the ankle, to hold the bones fi rmly in place. Finally he took another X-ray to check that everything was in good order.

“All fi nished. You’re a good patient,” he said to Jane Fraser. “Not a murmur out of you. And you, Miss Ames, are a good nurse.”