BOOK TWO

CHAPTER ELEVEN

They carried me off the train and put me into an American ambulance. After a while, we arrived at the American hospital. A doorman came out and met us at the ambulance. He and the two drivers carried me into the building, but when we got to the elevator, my stretcher was too big. They had to pick me up and carry me by my arms and legs into the elevator. It hurt like hell when my legs were not straight. I asked the men to be a little more careful. When we got to the second floor, there was nobody to meet us.

The doorman spent a long time to look for a nurse. He finally returned with an older woman who wore glasses.

"They didn't tell us that any patients would be sent here today," the old nurse said. She was American.

"Please, just find me a room. Anywhere is fine!" I could not stand the pain in my legs. It was getting worse.

"But there's nowhere to put you. We are not prepared to treat any patients at this time."

"Take me to a room!" I said to the doorman in Italian. "My legs really hurt, I can't stand it anymore!"

The doorman looked at the nurse. She obviously did not speak Italian.

I suddenly became really angry, and screamed to the old nurse, "Take me to a room!"

The men took me to the nearest room and gently placed me on the bed.

"I'm afraid that I can't provide you with any sheets for the bed. Everything is in shortage," said the nurse.

"I don't care," I answered.

I gave the two drivers and the doorman some money for helping me out, and told them they could go. Then I showed my medical papers to the old nurse: "This is everything you need to know about my injury. It also lists the medication I've been taking."

Tears suddenly came to the old nurse's eyes. "I don't understand what this says. Even if I spoke Italian, I wouldn't be able to do anything until the doctor comes back. He's out of the town right now."

I saw she was totally useless, and I asked her to leave. I started to feel very sleepy. My pain began to go away slowly. Even though the bed had no sheets, I was still comfortable. As I was falling asleep, I imagined Miss Barkley coming to my bed to care for me.

I woke up in the morning and a beautiful, young nurse came into the room, "Hello, Mr Henry. I'm sorry, but the doctor is still away. I can't change your bandages until he comes back. However, if you want, I can give you a bath."

"That would be great," I answered, "By the way, is there an English nurse here named Catherine Barkley?"

"No, there's just Mrs Walker and myself. My name is Miss Gage. But I heard there are more nurses coming later since we are going to get more and more patients."

She started to take my clothes off and wash my body carefully. It was very comfortable. Afterward, she put a hospital dress on me and took my temperature. I asked for some water and had the curtains opened. The room suddenly filled with light.

After my lunch, the manager of the hospital Miss Van Campen visited me. From the very beginning, neither one of us liked each other. She did not seem to like the fact that I was fighting for the Italians. I asked her if I could drink wine with my supper, but she did not agree to it. She said that we would have to wait for the doctor to return. I got angry and shouted, "When the hell is this doctor coming? He's chosen a wonderful time to take a vacation!" Miss Van Campen then left the room.

A few minutes later, Miss Gage returned and asked me why I had been so impolite to her boss. I told her that Miss Van Campen was too immodest in my opinion.

Later, after the day had grown dark, I asked the doorman to go out to get some wine and a newspaper for me. When he came back, I hid the things under my bed and immediately enjoyed a sip of wine. When Miss Gage came in with a small alcoholic drink, I hid the bottle of wine again.

"You see. Miss Van Campen is nicer than you think. She asked me to give you this. Maybe, you should be friendlier to her in the future. She has a lot of pressure to do good work here. You ought to make her job a little easier." I told Miss Gage to express my appreciation to her boss.

I then fell asleep. That night, I woke up several times feeling very frightened. Outside I could see the searchlights shining high up into the clouds. I could not fall back asleep and spent the rest of the night staring out the window. It was not until the sun rose again that I finally managed to go back to sleep.

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