The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-07-19
. SERIAL STORY
INFERNO TROUBLE
CAST OF CHARACTERS
By Gilmore Cowon Stone


TRAN DEARBORN-heroine
student nurse. She ran into love
and trouble when she met
DR.. BOB BENCHLEY--hero
handsome young inferno. He had
trouble, too. keeping up with bril-
liant
DR.. STEPHEN SARGENT
head surgeon. DR.. SARGENT prob
lem was something else again.
Yesterday: Tran wins success,
but begins to wonder about DIR.
Benchlcy. Then the thing hap
pened which threatened to change
her world completely.
CHAPTER NJ
Tran had started awake that
morning thinking. "TnIs is the
day.
II was to have been the culmi-
nation of the dreams of almost
two years. For today she WAS to
help at ono of Or. Stephen Sar-
gents operations.
True. she had worked under
several Of the other surgeons be-
forc-but that was not the same.
Now. scrubbed and Stcrilizcd. in
laparnntomy gown and cap. rub
Der gloves and mask. she was to
take part ut last i'm the antiphon-
al chant which she had rchcarScd
alone with a pair of scissors that
day. almost two years ago, before
the shining cases i'm the inStru-
mCut room. e. That was the first
time Bob BcnchlCy had kissed her.
Oh. we'll
Today il would be very differ
Cnt. "ScalpCl" Or. Sargent would
snap. And nurse Dearborn would
slap a knife into his hand with
the crisp echo. "Scalpcl." .
"Retractor" slap -" Rctractor. y
"HacmoStat" - slap - "Hacmo-
stat" "FOrccpS' -- slap -
"FOrccpS" But not Suturc
this time. Tran knew now that
suturcs were handled only by
graduate nurses.
In honor Of the occasion. Tran
had had a shampoo. finGerwavc
and a manicure. Not that any
ono would know the difference.
but having done so gave her an
uplftcd feeling Of being fit and
clean and ready. like prieSteSS
performing cleansing rites before
a sacrifice. Rcula Tagg. who
was also helping, Scandalizcd
Tran nv choosing To sleep instead
of purifying. But then Bcula was
only to he dirty purse" which
means that her lot was to pick M
messy things that the scrubbed
nurses mustn't touch.
Trans mood Of cNaltatinn had
hecn momcntarilv Jared rs III"
hurried along corridor that
morning by the sight Of DR..
Rcnchlcy and his pretty widow.
coming together from one Of the
private rooms. The charming
Mrs. Maitland seemed to have a
number os friends who were pa
tirntS these days.
Something intimately poSScSSivc
i'm the way she rested hand on
Bob'S sleeve and laughed up into
his face surprised Tran into sud
den unreasonable fury Of resent
mCnt.
She reminded herself with a
shrur. well. | could have had
him il Id liked, couldn't |? I've
got what | did want. haven't ~
Eut Just then Mrs Maitland
turned and called over her shout
der with the exaggerated gracl-
business Of one who makes a rite
of being always kind TO interiors,
"Oh. nurSc-won't YOU have them
call my car as YOU pass the Of
flee? I'm in rather hurry"
$50 sorry. but I'm not going
that way" Tran answered with
what she hoped was just the right
touch of tolerant amusement TO
point the difference between a
busy professional woman and a
mere social butterfly, land I'm in
rather hurry. myself. Nurses,
you know. are slaves 10 the clock. "
Young DR.. Bcnchlcy glanced
swiftly from one To the other with
a manner at first startled: then,
"a his eyes came to rest on Tran,
family amused.
Congratulatiug himself on his
happy escape, Tran thought. Well,
he's not the only one.
The catastrophe cam" shortly
after the operation WAS over. To.
ward tho end. violent wind and
electrical storm had blown up.
Even the ~rrcucly beautiful Mis-,
Miller. who was handling the
suturcS. glanced uu apprchcn>ivc,
~ once or twice when small ob,
iects hurtlcd by the windows 81
static cracked in the huShco
room with each binding flash oil
lightning
When it Wa over. and the pa
tiCnt had been wheeled away, only
DR.. Sargent. Miss Miller. and
Tran rcmaincd-MiSS Miller be
cause DR.. Sargent had detained
her; Tran. because there were