The Magic Meadow (6 page)

Brick was suddenly worried. “If we wait till after daylight to leave, it'll be dark when we get over there. And cold. And that's not all. It—it may take a lot of time to move five of us over there, with our bags and things. And tomorrow they'll be taking the rest of the patients away from Belleview. If any of us are still here …” He paused and bit his lip. “You see what I mean?”

“Oh, good heavens!” Nurse Jackson sat down heavily in the nearest chair. “I should have thought of that—but I've been so rushed lately I'm downright addled. Brick, we're going to have to be out of here by daylight—that is, if you can manage it.” She jumped up and studied him with sudden concern. “You look beat, son. You've got to have some rest before we can do anything. I'll see if I can whip up something hot to give you a little strength, and while you're resting I'll have a look at Donations.”

She hurried away, and returned presently with a tray containing five steaming cups of cocoa and a plate of sandwiches.

“Don't ask me where I stole the milk for the cocoa,” she murmured slyly. “Anyway, I thought you all had better have a snack now, and then get what sleep you can. I'll wake you later when the bags are ready.”

Cocoa was a rare treat at Belleview, and the others were still sipping theirs, trying to make it last, when Brick finished his and closed his eyes. He was asleep almost instantly.

It seemed that only seconds had passed when he became aware of Nurse Jackson's firm hand on his forehead.

“It's time, Brick,” she whispered.

Excitement stirred in him. Then he gasped in dismay as he made out the hands of the clock on the opposite wall. It was nearly three in the morning. “W-why didn't you call me earlier?”

“Sh-h-h! I don't want to wake the others yet. Brick, I had trouble. I—”

“What happened?”

“I'll tell you later. We've just got to work fast and do the best we can. How do you feel?”

There was worry in her. Deep worry. He could sense it in her and it added to his own rising uneasiness. Whatever had happened must have been pretty serious, for Nurse Jackson wasn't one to get upset easily.

“I'm okay,” he told her, trying to get confidence into his voice. “I'm sure I can manage things now.”

“Praise be! Everything's ready, and the bags with our things are right here on the floor. Now, here's the plan: It'll be Diz Dobie first—I've already switched the beds around so you can take him ahead of Charlie. Charlie's so weak; I don't want him to be over there all alone. The girls will follow Charlie, and I'll go last.”

She lifted a laundry bag from the floor and placed it in the crook of his right arm. Then she went over and quietly wakened Diz Dobie, and tucked a rolled-up blanket under the brown boy's left arm. “All set!” she whispered.

Brick reached out and firmly grasped the other boy's hand. “Close your eyes and concentrate on the dandelion place,” he ordered. “And hang on tight!”

This time he deliberately chose the sloping hillside where he had found himself the first time. Maybe he could have taken Diz to the second spot, down by the spring, for it would save steps later when they went to the house; but at this late hour, with so many trips ahead, he was afraid to risk it. He didn't even consider trying to reach the house. The first spot was the place everyone had visualized—in fact, it had turned out to be exactly the way they'd imagined it—and he was sure by now that the clearer you could see a destination in your mind, the less time and effort it would take to get there. If you were too tired, you just couldn't reach it at all.

It was a great relief, suddenly, to feel the hot afternoon sun on his face. He opened his eyes and sat up, and saw Diz Dobie staring about in speechless wonder. Hurriedly he moved the bag and blanket they had brought, and had the brown boy crawl well to one side in order to be out of the way when he returned with Charlie Pill.

“I'll land in the same spot,” he said. “And Charlie will be where you were. But when I bring Princess and Lily Rose, they'll be on my right. So watch it.”

He had no idea what would happen if someone or something chanced to get in his way at the final moment. Maybe it would result in no more than a bad jolting, but he surely wasn't going to risk it if he could help it. After all, you just can't jam two solids into the same space at the same time.

Getting back to Ward Nine, alone and unburdened, was much easier than it had been to leave it. He had barely touched his bed when he heard Nurse Jackson whisper, “Fifteen minutes by the clock. If you can just keep that up, maybe we can make it in time.…”

There was no mistaking the urgency in her voice. He had no idea what was troubling her, but he knew every minute must be important. She had Charlie Pill all ready for him, and the next laundry bag was thrust into his arm on the instant. “Get going!” she said tensely.

He did his best to speed it up, but the second trip took much longer than the first. It was a quarter to four when he returned. As he reached for the small hand to his right, Nurse Jackson thrust the third laundry bag upon him. “I've switched the girls,” she told him quickly, giving the clock an anxious glance. “I don't want Princess waiting out in that sun till I get there. She's had far too much of it already.”

He didn't waste time telling her that the sun had vanished under a great black cloud. He closed his eyes, told Lily Rose to concentrate, and strained to get the two of them away from Belleview.

It was much harder this time. And they were in for a bad shock when they reached the meadow, for they were greeted by thunder and the sudden fierce slash of rain. It was icy, driving rain, and they were immediately soaked. Lily Rose cried out in fright, and he scrambled to help Diz Dobie open up the blankets so the others could huddle together under them.

He was dripping wet and chilled through when he finally landed back in his bed. The hands of the clock showed it was almost five.

“It's storming over there!” he burst out to Nurse Jackson. “You'd better come next and get the gang up to that house. They—they're in an awful spot now!”

“Oh, dear God!” The nurse threw a blanket over him, and cast a stricken look at Princess. “Honey, there's no help for it. I'll have to go. Just be brave, and Brick will be back for you in a little while.” Then she caught up one of the bags and took her place on the empty bed to the left.

Brick glanced to the right and saw Princess watching him, lower lip clenched tight between her teeth. Her small pointed face, usually so white, was surprisingly pink from the sun. Her eyes were tragic.

“Don't worry,” he whispered. “I'll give it the gun and be back before you know it!”

He clasped Nurse Jackson's strong hand and concentrated on the meadow. The minutes ticked by and he strained and tried to force it, giving it all he had, but nothing happened. Dark fear rose in him.

He could feel the fear in Nurse Jackson now, but when she spoke her voice was calm. “Brick,” she said quietly, “you're tired. Rest a while. When you're ready, let me know. Then we'll give it the old double whammy.
That
ought to do it!”

It was with a sudden sinking sensation that he realized what was wrong. Nurse Jackson was a big, strong woman, and probably weighed as much as any three of them. It would take a double whammy, or whatever, to move her.

Brick rested and gathered his forces. It was daylight outside when he finally said, “Let's go!”

This time, with a supreme effort, they went.

And abruptly, with the change, they were in the gloom of storm and pouring rain.

For a moment Brick was too spent to move. Then he made out, on his right, clinging together in a miserable huddle under soaked blankets, the dim forms that were Lily Rose, Charlie, and Diz Dobie. At the sight of them, Nurse Jackson gave a cry of dismay and sprang to her feet.

“Brick, where's that house?”

He sat up and pointed toward the vague line of woods across the meadow. “Over yonder—through those trees. And watch the door!” he called, as she caught Lily Rose up in her arms and began to run. “Don't let it lock on you!”

“Get back to Princess!” she flung to him over her shoulder. “Hurry—before it's too late!”

He still had no idea what was wrong, but the urgency in her voice was plain. He flung aside the dripping blanket that covered him—it was the one she'd thrown over him in the ward, and by some miracle it had clung to him—and closed his eyes against the chilling downpour.

At the moment it seemed impossible to find the energy to return. But the thought of Princess, alone in the ward and in some unimaginable danger, was enough to summon forces he did not know he possessed. It took a while to bring those forces to a working pitch, then abruptly the storm about him faded, and again he was back in Belleview.

He turned instantly to the bed on his right, expecting to see Princess waiting. Shock held him rigid. Her bed was empty.

It was a frightened and despairing cry of protest, coming from somewhere in the corridor, that jerked him about, trembling. He couldn't make out what she said, but there was no mistaking that high plaintive voice. Someone was taking Princess away.

5

THE LOST BAG

Brick's first impulse, which he obeyed without thinking, was to scramble out of bed and dash for the corridor. He didn't know how he was going to get that far and reach Princess in time, but it had to be done, no matter what happened or what the cost.

His unsteady feet managed to take him as far as Diz Dobie's old bed, then his rubbery legs gave way, and he started to fall. Instinctively he grabbed for the bed, but he was falling in the wrong direction, and his clawing fingers caught only the cotton spread that covered it. He tugged at it wildly, and succeeded only in jerking it free. Yet it broke his fall and saved him from possible injury on the concrete floor.

His rain-soaked pajamas were clinging to him, and he was shaking with cold. While he looked desperately around, hoping to see a wheelchair he could use, he clutched the bedcover about him and then began crawling to the door. He was still yards away from it when he heard Princess cry out again.

Brick scrambled frantically ahead, yelling with all the power of his lungs, “Stop! Stop! Don't take her away! Stop!”

The turn of the corridor was in sight when he heard quick footsteps approaching. Suddenly Miss Preedy, who should have been off duty by now, appeared in the doorway. Behind her loomed a policeman.

“What's going on in here?” she demanded. “Where have you been? What are you doing on the floor?”

“It's Princess—they're taking her away! Please don't let them,” he begged. “Please!”

“Shut up!” Miss Preedy snapped. “They're taking her away because I ordered it.” Then, in a voice that shook with fury, “Where's that thieving black woman?”

Brick gaped at her. “Nurse Jackson is no thief!”

“She's a thief and worse! I caught her stealing clothes and valuable drugs, and she assaulted me. I've ordered her arrest. Where is she?”

“She—she's gone,” Brick faltered, and looked imploringly at the policeman. “Please, won't you help me?”

The policeman ignored Miss Preedy's demand to search the rest of the building. “Is it proper to leave a patient lying on the floor like this?” He stooped quickly, scowling, and said, “What's wrong, young feller?” Then he exclaimed, “Say, your head's wet, and your face is red. Have you got some kind of fever?”

At the word “fever,” Miss Preedy turned quickly and stared down at him. Her eyes widened, and she gasped.

Brick bit his tongue so he wouldn't even think of sunburn, which he knew no one would believe anyway, and an electric chain reaction skipped through his mind with a speed and logic that would have shamed any computer.

Abruptly he cried, “Stop Princess! She's got it too! It's contagious—she'll infect everybody! We—we're supposed to be kept here … isolated….” He hesitated only a split second while he dredged up the worst thing he could think of, then blurted out, “Dr. Swartz said something about typhus.…”

Brick didn't know whether anything as terrible as typhus produced a flushed face or not, but he figured they wouldn't be too well acquainted with it in Belleview either. At any rate, the dread word had the desired effect upon Miss Preedy, for she gave a stifled shriek like a strangling mouse and flew into the corridor.

In a matter of seconds a white-jacketed, white-faced attendant hurriedly thrust a wheelchair containing a tearful pink-faced Princess into the ward, then turned and vanished. The policeman, muttering to himself, took time to lift Brick to a bed, then hastened out, closing and locking the door behind him.

“Oh, Brick!” Princess said in a voice that quavered, “I—I'm so glad to see you I could cry! How did you ever make them bring me back?”

“Tell you later. We've gotta get going. Where's your bag?”

“Right here in the wheelchair. My feet are on it. I told the man it had all my things in it, and that—”

“Can you wheel yourself close to me?” he interrupted. “Hurry!”

But he had hardly spoken when he saw that it was impossible. She was swaddled in blankets, and was securely strapped into the chair. Nor was there space enough between the beds for the wheels to roll, for the policeman had put him on the center bed which had belonged to Charlie Pill. The quickest solution was to get back onto the floor and take off from there.

He slid to the floor and scrambled over beside Princess. She managed to free a hand, and he clasped it quickly.

“Concentrate!” he whispered. “Give it all you've got!”

It didn't help a bit to know that they were bound to be interrupted if he took too long at this. The terrible word he'd uttered would soon be all over Belleview, and then Dr. Swartz would be informed. They had to move fast—but he'd done so much fast moving in the last few hours that he was beginning to feel like a worn-out battery incapable of the slightest spark.