href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@47775@[email protected]#wellbeglad" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">“We’ll Be Glad to Have You,” Mrs. Evans Said

Billy and Kitty Waved to the Tall Man

CHAPTER ONE
 
THEY ALSO SERVE

“Oh, Kitty, look!” Little Billy Carter jumped up and down in delight beside his tall sister. “There’s Daddy!”

“Where?” Kitty asked as she searched the files of marching troops for a look at her dad.

Billy pointed with his chubby finger. “Yonder! The straightest, bestest of all!”

Then Kitty’s heart swelled with pride, too, as she watched a tall man with the other medical officers from the Naval hospital. They were all wonderful, those rhythmical, moving lines of blue, green and khaki, but for the two Carters the heart and soul of it all was the Chief Pharmacist’s Mate they called Dad. They were sure the war could never be won without him.

It was a gala day in Bayport, for every organization had turned out to boost the Community Chest drive. Now a military band was passing, while Billy’s small feet kept time, and scuffed out the soles of his shoes. Kitty had had no idea a six-year-old could wear out so many shoes till she had come home from college a short time ago. Was it really only a few weeks ago? To Kitty it seemed ages, for her whole program of life had been changed in that time.

“There come the WACs, to give Hitler whacks,” Billy prattled.

“And there are the WAVES, our American braves.”

Kitty laughed though her heart was like stone as she repeated the silly rhyme she had made up for Billy at Christmastime when she told him she was going to join the WAVES. How little she had dreamed during that happy vacation that Aunt Nina would be gone in another month, and Billy would have no one to look to except his big sister.

But Kitty couldn’t keep back the blinding tears as the WACs and WAVES passed in their trim uniforms, their heads held high, their eyes bright in the knowledge that they were doing their share to help win the war.

“When are you going to be a WAVE, Kit, and wear a pretty uniform?” Billy wanted to know.

“I’ve decided not to be a WAVE, darling,” Kitty looked straight ahead for fear he would see her tears.

“But you said you were going to help win the war. Dad says we all must.”

“Look, there come the tanks!”

Billy forgot his puzzlement over his sister’s change of plans, for the tanks were followed by jeeps, trucks and more lines of marching men and women. At last the parade went on down Bay Street, but Kitty still stood staring at the moving stream of passenger cars in its wake, though she really saw nothing that passed. Somehow she felt cheated, out of it all. After a while an insistent, small hand tugging at hers brought her back to the present.

“Aren’t we going to see the ducks in the park? You promised.”

“Yes, of course. It’ll be fun watching the ducks. Let’s go