fleetingly at her face to see a weary, worried expression in her eyes.

“Tired?” she asked sympathetically. Somehow she felt strangely drawn to this older woman. She judged Ensign Dawson to be somewhere in her thirties. Evidently she had already seen real action. On her coat she wore the yellow ribbon for South Pacific service, and two stars indicating she had been in two major engagements. Her eyes held the shadowed, yet kindly light of one who eased much suffering.

“Not too tired,” she replied to Kitty’s question as she forced a smile to her lips. She studied the girl’s face thoughtfully a moment before she added, “So you’re Kitty Carter.”

“They say I look like Dad.”

“You do. I had no trouble recognizing you. Wherever your dad is he always keeps your picture and Billy’s on his desk.”

“Then You Are Miss Dawson,” Kitty Said

“So you’ve served with him before?”

“We worked together several months in the Pacific, and were in the same hospital at Annapolis.”

“I didn’t visit Dad when he was at Annapolis. You see ever since the war began I’ve been cramming, winter and summer, to get my degree. I wanted to get through as soon as I could and join the WAVES.”

“Yes. Your father told the you had to change your plans.” Hazel sent an understanding glance toward Billy, sitting on Brad’s lap.

“But I’m going to be able to help after all,” said Kitty eagerly.

“Really? Then you’ve made arrangements for the boy?”

“Oh no. I can help and still keep our little home. I’m going into Canteen work.”

“That’s splendid!”

“I might never have thought of it if I hadn’t met Brad Mason today.”

“Oh, you only met today.”

Brad grinned boyishly. “I thought it was important to get acquainted with her, even if I did have to use Billy as a go-between.”

“Billy as a go-between!” exclaimed Kitty, shocked. “Do you mean you made that sailboat for him with an ulterior motive?”

“I’ll have to plead guilty!” But Brad’s hearty laugh betrayed no sense of guilt. “When I saw you sitting on that bench looking so pensive I said to myself, ‘Now there’s a pretty girl who needs cheering.’”

“And we women have the idea it’s the service men who need cheering,” said Hazel.

Kitty laughed in spite of her chagrin. “Well. I’ll have to hand it to you for being a cheerer-upper,” she admitted.

“How did he stir up your interest in Canteen work?” asked Hazel, entering gayly into their banter.

Kitty gave a sprightly account of their meeting, and ended by saying. “And before I knew what had happened I had practically joined the Canteen Corps and invited Brad to ride home with us.”

“But you can bet she wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been coming along. I know Kitty’s kind. She’s a stickler for form.”

“Oh, not really!”

“Just the same it’ll do you no end of good being a Canteen worker,” Brad persisted.

Kitty was about to make a saucy retort when Billy piped up. “Look, Kit, there’s the Red Cross station wagon!”

Sure enough they were passing the park where the station wagon was being loaded again. Miss Pearson glanced her way and waved.

“I think she’s going to be nice to work with,” said Kitty happily. “I can hardly wait till Monday to begin my training.”

“Can I ride in the station wagon with you when you’re a Canteen worker?” Billy wanted to know.

“If they’ll let you.”

At the corner where they had to turn toward the docks, the taxi was held up by traffic. A crowded Palmetto Island bus in front of them was loading passengers. A dozen or more people couldn’t get on at all. Among them Kitty noticed Lieutenant Cary, one of the physicians from their own hospital. It seemed a shame to leave him to wait for the next bus when there was plenty of room in their launch.

As the taxi crept through the traffic near the spot where the young lieutenant stood, she called out to him, “Come down to the dock.” She pointed down the side street toward the bay. “We’ll give you a ride over to the island in our launch.”

He acknowledged her invitation with a dignified bow. When they moved on Kitty turned to Brad and said, “Seemed a shame not to pick him up. You know him of course—Lieutenant Cary?”

“Oh, yes.”

Kitty was surprised to find Brad’s cool tone reflecting some of her own instinctive dislike of the man. She tried to disregard the feeling for she scarcely knew Lieutenant Cary. She had encountered him only a few times in her father’s office at the hospital. Though he made obvious efforts to be friendly Kitty had an unaccountable aversion for him. But she could not let her ungrounded prejudice go so far as to make her pass by one of her father’s co-workers, when she had plenty of room to take him home. Transportation conditions were bad enough, without anyone traveling with unused space.

Brad was most helpful in loading Hazel’s suitcases into the launch. By the time they had loaded the launch and warmed the motor, Lieutenant Cary came sprinting toward them. Brad and Miss Dawson saluted their superior officer as the physician paused a moment on the dock.

“This is really kind of you, Miss Carter,” Cary said, stepping into the launch. “I had no idea there’d be such a traffic jam when I came over.”

“Miss Dawson, may I present Lieutenant Cary?” said Kitty, while Cary still stood beside her in the middle of the launch.

He bowed with what Kitty thought exaggerated formality under the cramped conditions. “You’re the new nurse scheduled to begin work tomorrow, I presume?”

“That is correct, Lieutenant Cary.”

Kitty felt as if icy spray had been dashed into her face at the coolness of the tone.

“You’re no relation of Mate Willard Dawson, I presume?” questioned the Lieutenant.

“I’m proud to say he’s my brother!” Hazel Dawson spoke the words almost with defiance.

Kitty, standing between the two wondered what all this meant. Their antagonistic attitude was most unaccountable. She glanced at Brad to find a strained, embarrassed look on his face.

Kitty deliberately raced the engine to end the awkward moment. As she slowly and skillfully steered the launch through the harbor traffic, she wondered what all this meant. Who was this mysterious Willard Dawson, and why should Hazel be so stiff-necked in her assertion that he was her brother? Fortunately Hazel was in the prow, while Lieutenant Cary sat in the stern with Brad. Billy always wanted to stand in the prow, so Nurse Dawson kept a protecting arm around him while Kitty ran the boat.

Kitty’s father had said many