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, âStop! Stop! Donât take her away! Stop!â
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.
âWhatâs going on in here?â she demanded. âWhere have you been? What are you doing on the floor?â
âItâs Princessâtheyâre taking her away! Please donât let them,â he begged. âPlease!â
âShut up!â Miss Preedy snapped. âTheyâre taking her away because I ordered it.â Then, in a voice that shook with fury, âWhereâs that thieving black woman?â
Brick gaped at her. âNurse Jackson is no thief!â
âSheâs a thief and worse! I caught her stealing clothes and valuable drugs, and she assaulted me. Iâve ordered her arrest. Where is she?â
âSheâsheâs gone,â Brick faltered, and looked imploringly at the policeman. âPlease, wonât you help me?â
The policeman ignored Miss Preedyâs demand to search the rest of the building. âIs it proper to leave a patient lying on the floor like this?â He stooped quickly, scowling, and said, âWhatâs wrong, young feller?â Then he exclaimed, âSay, your headâs wet, and your face is red. Have you got some kind of fever?â
At the word âfever,â Miss Preedy turned quickly and stared down at him. Her eyes widened, and she gasped.
Brick bit his tongue so he wouldnât 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, âStop Princess! Sheâs got it too! Itâs contagiousâsheâll infect everybody! Weâweâre supposed to be kept here ⦠isolatedâ¦.â He hesitated only a split second while he dredged up the worst thing he could think of, then blurted out, âDr. Swartz said something about typhus.â¦â
Brick didnât know whether anything as terrible as typhus produced a flushed face or not, but he figured they wouldnât 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.
âOh, Brick!â Princess said in a voice that quavered, âIâIâm so glad to see you I could cry! How did you ever make them bring me back?â
âTell you later. Weâve gotta get going. Whereâs your bag?â
âRight here in the wheelchair. My feet are on it. I told the man it had all my things in it, and thatââ
âCan you wheel yourself close to me?â he interrupted. âHurry!â
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
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