The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-19
CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XI
 Tran had started awake tha
 morning thinking, This is the day!'
 It was to have been the culmina. tion of the dreams of almost twt years. For today she was to help al one of Dr. Stephen Sargent's oper. ations.
 True, she had worked under several of the other surgeons be- fore-but that was not the same.
 Now, scrubbed and sterilized, ir laparotomy gown and cap, rubber gloves and mask, she was to take part at last in he antiphona chant which she had rehearsec alone with a pair of scissor that day, alVost two years ago. before the shining cases in the instrument room That was the first time Bob Benchley had kissed her. Oh we'll
 Today it would be very differ ent. "Scalpel" Dr. Sergent would snap. And nurse Dearborn would slap knife into his hand with the crisp echo, "Scalpel". Re tractor" slap - "Retractor." "Haemostat"-slap-"Haemostat." "Forceps"-slap-"Forceps But not suture this time Tran knew now that sutures were handled only by graduate nurses.
 In honor of the occasion, Tran had had shapoo, fingerwave and manicure. Not that any one would know the difference, but having done so gave her an up- lifted feeling of being fit and clean and ready, like priestess per- forming cleansing rites before a sacrifice .Beula Tagg, who was also helping, scandalized Tran by choosing to sleep instead of purifying. But then Beula was only to be dirty nurse, which means that her lot was to pick up messy things that the scrubbed nurses mustn't touch.
 Trans mood of exaltation had been momentarily jared as she hurried along corridor that morning by the sight of Dr. Benchley and his pretty widow, coming together from one of the private rooms The charming Mrs. Maitland seemed to have a number of friends who were pa- tients these days.
 Something intimately possessive in the way she rested hand on Boo's sleeve and laughed up into his face surprised Tran into a sud- den unreasonable fury of resent ment.
 She reminded herself with a shrug, Well, I could have had him if I'd liked, couldn't I? I've got what I did want, haven't IF"
 
 But just then Mrs. Maitland turned and called over her shoulder with the exaggerated graciousness of one who makes a rite of being always kind to interiors, "Oh, nurse you have them call my car as you pass the office? I'm in rather a hurry"
 So 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 a hurry, myself. Nurses, you know, are slaves to the clock"
 Young Dr. Benchley glanced swiftly from one to the other with a manner at first startled; then, as his eyes came to rest on Tran, faintly amused.
 Congratulating himself on his happy escape, Tran thought. Well, he's not the only one.
 The catastrophe came shortly after the operation was over. To- ward the end, a violent wind and electrical storm had blown up. Even the serenely beautiful Miss Miller who was handling the sutures, glanced up apprehensive- ly once or twice when small ob- jects hurled by the windows or static cracked in the hushed room with each binding flash of light ming.
 When it was over, and the pa- tient had been wheeled away, only Dr. Sargent, Miss Miller, and Tran remained - Miss Miller because Dr. Sargent had detained her; Tran, because there were still things she had to do
 Moving about between the in- strument table and the service room, Tran heard Miss Miller say, Congratulations, Doctor. No one but you could have done that, He'll live, don't you think?"
 She heard Top Sarge. reply a little wearily, And what, in Gods name, has the poor devil to live for? This is the kind of case that makes a surgeon feel like a criminal"
 But the operation was success full"
 The operation? Is that all you ever think of, Katherine? After all, patients are human be- ings, you know"
 Tran didn't mean to listen, but they seemed to have forgotten her. They were standing together by a window, against stormy back ground of wind-swayed trees and dashing rain - standing with the
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