The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-15
CHAPTER VIII

xxHu never k1tW III TOW lATke h measure she was indebted to the Terrible Top Sarge for the pert, fril- led cap that stamped her as full dedged student nurse. She never knew that after telling the story of that evening in Emergency, he had said, Armstrong, that girl has something that five out of six nurses lack. Interne trouble or not, she has the nursing touch"
 Tran only knew that that cap was the one thing she most wanted in the world, and that she had 1t.
 Yet even during the ceremony that conferred 1t upon her she barely missed disgracing herself.
 It was unfortunate in the first place that Miss Armstrong had chosen Miss Miller to perform the capping ceremony on this occa- sion. There was something about "the icicle's" poised, finished per lection that invariably made Tran feel hopelessly raw and crude, and consequently frightened her defense mechanism to the danger point.
 It was doubly unfortunate that young Dr. Benchley should have been among those of the medical staff who attended the exercises; because, again, there was some thing about the impudently danc- ing eyes in his lean, smiling face that invariably put Tran off her stride. The fact that, just as Miss Miller turned toward her, cap in hand, his eyes were upon her, 1mpishly amused in deceptively decorous face, made her suddenly catch her cheeks between her teeth to keep her own eyes from flooding - not with untimely laughter, but with angry tears.
 She saw Miss Miller's faultlessly modeled shoulders move in the faintest of shrugs as if to say, '"The girl is hopelessly emotional, of course Oh, well, l warned them"
 Strangely enough, the circum- stance that steadied her and brought her up defiantly cool and dry-eyed was the presence of Dr. Stephen Sargent there to speak . few inspiring words, and ob- vieusly bored and straining at the leash. From time to time he had glsred impatiently at the clock as the exercises progressed. Now Tran saw his cobalt blue eyes settle upon her with & kind of detached fury that seemed to say, Good Lordl AS If 1t weren't awful enough already, here's this emotional little feather-brain about to make 8 scene!"
 AS if by magic Trans tears dried, and her spine stiffened.
 Mot this timel" she shot at him mentally. T wouldn't give you that satisfaction"
 She lifted her head, swept him with blandly impersonal glance that would have done credit to Miss Miller, herself, and the cher tshed cap perched Jauntily on her dark curls, moved back to her place.
 After the capping exercises, Tran and Beula Tagg - who couldn't be- Ieve yet that her cap was actually hers, but kept batting 1t with cau- tious fingers-held good resolu- tions" rally For not even &C., cepted student nurses always sur vived the grilling three years of training that entitled them to wear the coveted white linen uniforms. There were still "mishts" to be weeded out.
 Beula vowed passionately that she would not eat between meals, and that she would exercise every night. Tran sWore that she would never giggle again, that she would not thrust herself unnecessarily upon the attention of her superiors or dash around asking untimely questions; and privately, that she would shun the pernicious infiu- ence of Dr. Bob Benchley as 1T he were the plague She would not even stop for a few stolen words with him in the cordidor, or to snatch & puff from his ciga- ret behind a convenient screen; she would never, never again dance with him to the music of a hirdy-gurdy in the street outside, as she had recklessly done when they had met by accident in the Aeaevted service room of G-G one fragrant May morning.