"It was too bad," sympathized Marjorie.
"Jackson has lost his right leg too," said Elaine, pa.s.sing on to the next bed. "He was wounded on sentry duty. He"d been out since the beginning of the war, and had not had a scratch till then. And he"d been promised his leave the very next day. Hard luck, wasn"t it?"
"The only thing that troubles me," remarked Jackson, "is that I"d paid a quid out in Egypt to have my leg tattooed by one of those black fellows.
He"d put a camel on it, and a bird and a monkey, and my initials and a heart. It was something to look at was that leg. And I"ve left it over in France. Wish I could get my money back!"
The next patient, Rawlins, was very shy and would not speak, though he smiled a little at the visitors.
"He"s going on nicely," explained Elaine, "but I"m afraid he still suffers a good deal. He"s awfully plucky about it. He doesn"t care to talk. He likes just to lie and watch what"s going on in the ward. This boy in the next bed is most amusing. He sends everyone into fits. He"s only eighteen, poor lad! Webster, here are two young ladies come to see you. Do you know, he can imitate animals absolutely perfectly. Give us a specimen, Webster, before Lord and Lady Greystones arrive."
"I"m a bashful sort of a chap----" began the boy humorously.
"No, no, you"re not," put in Elaine. "I want my cousins to hear the pig squeak. Please do."
"Well, to oblige you, Nurse."
He raised himself a little on his elbow, then, to the girls" surprise, a whole farm-yard seemed to have entered the ward. They could hear a sheep bleating, a duck quacking, a dog barking, hens clucking, a c.o.c.k crowing, and a pig uttering a series of agonized squeals. It was a most comical imitation, and really very clever.
Even Dona laughed heartily, and the colour crept back to her cheeks. She was beginning to get over her terror of wounded soldiers.
"They seem to be able to enjoy themselves," she remarked.
"Oh yes, they"ve all sorts of amus.e.m.e.nt!" replied Elaine, drawing her cousins aside. "It"s wonderful how cheery they keep, not to say noisy sometimes. In "Kitchener" Ward the men have mouth organs and tin whistles and combs, and play till you"re nearly deafened. We don"t like to check them if it keeps up their spirits, poor fellows! You see, there"s always such a pathetic side to it. Some of them will be cripples to the end of their days, and they"re still so young. It seems dreadful.
Think of Peters and Jackson. A man with one leg can"t do very much for a living unless he"s a clerk, and neither of them is educated enough for that. Their pensions won"t be very much. I suppose they"ll be taught some kind of handicraft. I hope so, at any rate."
"Are they all ordinary Tommies here?" asked Marjorie.
"We"ve no officers. They, of course, are always in a separate hospital.
But some of the Tommies are gentlemen, and have been to public schools.
There are two over there. We"ll go down the other side of the ward and you"ll see them. There"s just time before our grand visitors arrive. We must stop and say a word at each bed, or the men will feel left out. We try not to show any favouritism to the gentlemen Tommies. This is Wilkinson--he reads the newspaper through every day and tells us all about it. It"s very convenient when we haven"t time to read it for ourselves. This is Davis; he comes from Bangor, and can speak Welsh, which is more than I can. This is Harper; he"s to get up next week if he goes on all right."
"Who is this in the next bed?" asked Marjorie suddenly.
"Seventeen? That"s one of the gentlemen Tommies," whispered Elaine. "An old Rugby boy--he knew Wilfred there. Yes, Sister, I"m coming!"
In response to a word from the ward sister, Elaine hurried away immediately, leaving her cousins to take care of themselves.
Marjorie looked again at the patient in No. 17. The twinkling brown eyes seemed most familiar. She glanced at the board on the bed-head and saw: "Hilton Tamworthy Preston". The humorous mouth was smiling at her in evident recognition. She smiled too.
"Didn"t we travel together from Silverwood?" she stammered.
"Of course we did. I knew you at once when you were going down the other side of the ward," he replied. "Did you get to Brackenfield all right that day?"
"Yes, thanks. But how did you know that we were going to Brackenfield?"
"Why, you were wearing your badges. My sisters used to be there, so I twigged at once that you were Brackenfielders. Your teacher wore a badge too. I hope she found a taxi all right?"
"No, she didn"t. It was a wretched four-wheeler, but we were glad to get anything in the way of a cab."
"How do you like school?"
"Oh, pretty well! I like it better than Dona does. We"re going home next Tuesday for the holidays."
"My sisters were very happy there, and Kathleen was a prefect. I used to hear all about it. Do you still call Mrs. Morrison "The Empress"? I expect there are plenty of new girls now that Joyce and Kathleen wouldn"t remember."
"Have you been wounded?" asked Dona shyly.
"Yes, but I"m getting on splendidly. I hope to be up quite soon. The Doctor promised to have me back at the front before long."
"We have a brother at the front, and one on the _Relentless_, and another in training," volunteered Marjorie, "besides Father, who"s at Havre."
"And I"m one of five brothers, who are all fighting."
"Didn"t you get the V.C.?"
"Oh yes, but I don"t think I did anything very particular! Any of our men would have done the same."
"Have you got it here in your locker?"
"No, my mother has it at home."
"I"d have loved to see it."
"I wish I could have shown it to you. I thought it would be safer at home. Hallo! Here come the bigwigs! The show is going to begin."
All eyes turned towards the door, where the Commandant was ushering in the guests of the afternoon. Lord Greystones was elderly, with a white moustache and a bald head; Lady Greystones, twenty years younger, was pretty, and handsomely dressed in velvet and furs. Admiral Webster, like Nelson, had lost an arm, and his empty sleeve was tucked into the coat front of his uniform. The patients saluted as the visitors entered, and those who were able stood up, but the majority had perforce to remain seated. Escorted by the Commandant, the august visitors first made a tour of inspection round the ward, nodding or saying a few words to the patients in bed. Speeches followed from Lord Greystones and the Admiral, and from one of the Governors of the hospital. They were stirring, patriotic speeches, and Marjorie listened with a little thrill, and wished more than ever that she were old enough to take some real part in the war, and bear a share of the nation"s burden. It was wonderful, as the Admiral said, to think that we are living in history, and that the deeds done at this present time will go down through all the years while the British Empire lasts.
Then came the important business of stripping the tree. Lord Greystones and the Admiral cut off the parcels, and Lady Greystones distributed them to the men, with a pleasant word and a smile for each. The presents consisted mostly of tobacco, or little writing-cases with notepaper and envelopes.
"It"s so fearfully hard to know what to choose for them," said Elaine, who had found her way back to her cousins. "It"s no use giving them things they can"t take away with them. A few of them like books, but very few. Oh, here come the tea-trays! You can help me to take them round, if you like. The convalescents are to have tea in the dining-room. They"ve a simply enormous cake; you must go and look at it.
It"ll disappear to the last crumb. Here"s Mother! She"ll take you with her and see you back to Brackenfield. I must say ta-ta now, as I"ve to be on duty."
Marjorie lingered a moment, and turned again to Bed 17.
"Good-bye!" she said hurriedly. "I hope you"ll be better soon."
"Thanks very much," returned Private Preston. "I"m "marked out" for a convalescent home, and shall be leaving here as soon as I can get up. I hope you"ll enjoy the holidays. Don"t miss your train this time.
Good-bye!"
CHAPTER XI
A Stolen Meeting
At the very first available moment Marjorie went to the library and consulted the latest number of the _Brackenfield School Magazine_. She turned to the directory of past girls at the end and sought the letter P. Here she found: