The Washington times., 1938-03-24

even seemed to more than look
closely together than they were
by their marriage. Nadia got an
attack of flu. She went to bed with
it and then, after week. got up
thinking she had it whipped. But
she hadn't. Then flu struck again
and changed into anemia. Mazda
was just about gone when the
doctor decided on a blood trans.
fusion. They looked around for a
person with her same type of blood
and they hadn't far to look. Bills
was her type.
He climbed on a table next to
hers in the operating room one
day. Nadia was almost, but not
quite, unconscious. She lay on her
back, her eyes half open. She knew
that Bill was lying there beside
her. That was all that mattered.
Then she became more con-
scious of Bill. She felt his strength
pouring into her. Being straddled
as it were between this life and
the next, she got the impression
that Bills strong hands reached
at her body just below her chest.
She felt his hands on her flesh.
Then she felt his hands going
through her flesh and grasping
her heart. Her heart was cold and
getting colder but his strong hands
warmed her and her heart
strengthened in them.
BILL SAVED HER
"She is reacting marvelously," a
doctor said to the operating sur
.geon. Congratulations, Doctor. I
didn't think you could pull her
through"
IT didn't" the surgeon mumbled
through his mask. "He did"
Well, Nadia recovered from that
attack and convalesced. But two
months later, she was down again
and on the same table and Bill
was on the other table beside her
and the whole thing was reenacted.
Nadia was getting better again
five days later when Bill came to
see her at the hospital. When he
kissed her, he said:
Glad you're going to stay a
while. I'll have a little time to be
with you. They've taken off that,
north passage flight for a while.
Heavy weather"
Something went cold inside
Nadia. She couldn't understand
the feeling because she had never
had it before. It took her a little
while to feel it out. She did it by
getting inside of Bills mind. She
just moved her mind inside his
skull.
And what did she see? She saw
that Bill was lying. She saw him
thinking, It wish this damn run
was over. hate it. Well, it will be
in about five hours"
When he was ready to go, he
leaned over and kissed her on the
lips. His eyes were haggard.
PLANE CRACKED UP
"Good-by, Baby" he said.
He had never said "good-by" to
her before. And she had never
said good-by" to him. Men were
clumsy liars. But he wanted it
that way. If she let him know she
knew, it would worry him.
"Good-by, Bill" she said.
Bill crashed his plane and eight
passengers on the top of a ridge
which was part OF the backbone
of the Bridger Mountains.
The plane dived to destruction
about six mills from the spot
where Jack Balsam and his ship
had crashed the year before. A
rescue party. guided in by a pilot
who had located the plane, found
them all dead.
When they had gotten them
out, Bills friends among the
pilots held a series of deep confer
ences about how they should treat
his death in front of MAZDA.
They were ushered into her
room in the hospital. It just hap
pened that the nurse was out
when they arrived. MAZDA was
lying, or half reclining on the pill
low. Her eyes were open. She was
slightly smiling. There was a sheet
of paper with weakly scrawled
writing across it. One of the dele.
cation picked it up and read it.
Il saw what happened to Bill
and the passengers, it read. II
have gone to join him"
The reader looked up from the
paper at Nadia. That was the first
intimation he had that Nadia was
dead.
THE END.