The Wilmington morning star., 1947-12-20
1Ae LAST HARBoR OF the MAyFloWER
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voice was a small, shaken whls'
per.
"He's dead, Elaine.'
Elaine's arms tightened about
the tiny body and she cried Out
raggedly, "Oh, Cathy, how-hoW
awful He was such a swell
baby. Cathy, he never had
break. He never had a chance
to - to grow up and - Oh
Cathy-"
Behind her Mark said quietly
Buck up, Elaine. Here, let me
have the little fellow"
Elaine said, her voice chokec
with sobs, "Oh, Mark-I never
knew about things like this. Oh
1 knew they happened, and
guess 1 said, like most people
How TERRIBLE But it's like {
hideous nightmare. Oh, I wish
l could wake up and find out il
was"
Cathy's arms were about her
and Elaine was weeping hard
her slender body shaking.
When Mark came back, he
carried two thick mugs Of
steaming coffee, and Cathy
said, as her shaking hands grip
ped one of them, 81 never knew
how wonderful just cup of cof-
fee could bel"
Mark looked at her sharply
"You haven't had breakfast, o1
course" he said almost accus.
ingly.
"There wasn't time" Cathy
slipped it eagerly.
Elaine had conquered hel
tears to some extent and was
docilely slipping the coffee
Mark looked down at the two
girls curiously.
'How did you happen to be
here?" Cathy had time now
to ask the question.
81 was leaving this afternoon
first train l could get" he ex-
planned brusquely. THE hote
was hit, not seriously damaged
but the window lights were al
gone and-well, there seemed te
be plenty of work for everybody
who'd escaped injury
He looked down at Elaine ane
said with appalling frankness
You're the one I'm surprised
to see here"
Cathy expected Elaine to re
sent that with her usual ho
temper. Instead Elaine answer
"d meekly, 81 know Pm sur
prised myself I guess l = We'l
when the storm struck and
saw the fire, I thought it woule
be exciting. And the next thing
l knew, was knee-deep il
something I've read about ano
heard about but never. expert
enced before"
She shivered and her face wa
white and pinched. Her eye
were on a little row of still
forms beneath hastily impro
vised covers, and there wa
something in her expression
that said she would never forge
this night.
She went on talking, speaking
softly, almost as though SHE
spoke to herself.
Funny, l disliked Cy
pressville with all my heart ane
I'd already made up my mine
that as soon as Bill and I were
married, we'd 60 somewhere
else to live. l thought the people
here were dull and stodgy ano
they bored me to extinction. Bu1
tonight, all of sudden, l rea-
lized that-that they were peo.
pie - good people, bad people
all sorts of people. And that
was cheap and silly little
make-believe sort of creature
with my nose in the air-thar
they were all right but was
wrong. I've seen them do heroic
things-beautiful, selfless thing.
risk their own lives to hell
people they don't even know.
guess I sort of grew up tonight
Pretty painful business, O.
course" She tried desperately
to achieve a bit of her old flip
pancy but without success.
Cathy looked up at Mark ane
surprised on his face a look O
almost startled tenderness. Bu
it was not a look directed a
herself, but at Elaine. It was a
though he had never seen E,ain
before, but now that he had, h,