Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 296, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1918 — Propinquity's Part [ARTICLE]

Propinquity's Part

By DOROTHY DOUGLAS

You’re that kind of stuff. And I’ll I Iwinb fr* vnn wlfh fl Villi Of , 1 _ j ormC ■full nf InVP ” HPF head drooped on his khaki shoulder for a moment while she almost gave way. “Good-by,” she whispered and pushed him from her. ,

He held hen for' one more moment “Good-by, my girl,” he said, swallowing the lump that almost choked him. Then he took his cap and strode down the garden path, closed the gate behind him and was lost to her among the shadows of the trees. June twisted her handkerchief to a hard knot, bit her lips and kept her eyes glueii to'the opening in the trees where she had last seen him. Then, slowly, she let the tears flow down her cheeks, threw herself' Into the binnmock and sobbed. Capt. Teddy Blake was soon back in his quarters with the knowledge in bls own heart that this was # the last time, he should see June for many a day. That he would sail on the following day or-the next at the latest he was sure. It seemed very hard to leave June; they had been so happy; she was wonderfully lovely. But —he would come back and claim her some day. That she would not, wait for him, that he could forget—those were impossible suggestions. June answered the call of the Red Cross for nurses. She felt In her first dejection and loneliness as if she must do something to help hasten the end -of the war that had separated Teddy from her. She was accepted and went into g hospital for training almost at once. She became absorbed-in the work, met many new and interesting persons and soon found herself quite cheerful At night When she-wrote her letter to Captain Teddy she told him of her work, of the new faces, of her ambition to get “over there” and-help, Und perhaps take care of him. But she did not vjeep; rather she grew more and more proud of having sent her captain off so bravely, and congratulated herself for her own cheerfulness. ■; ■-•J''. ;

“You’re going to make-a wonderful nurse, Miss Prince,” one of the doctors told her after she had helped him In some surgical dressing. “Oq, am I?” she exclaimed. “I love the work.” ■ * . Doctor Buchanan watched the wonderful color flood her face* at the compliment he had paid her. He was thir-ty-five and had been so absorbed In his profession that he had never taken time to get married. . . June worked more earnestly than ever after that wbrd of praise from so clever a’ surgeon as Doctor Buchanan. Also she now had the temerity to smile at him when she passed him in the corridors or he chanced upon her in the wards. Heretofore she had -never notided any- of the doctors, some one having told her it was better to attend strictly ,to the professional side of the work and not permit herself to know the doctors socially. Captain Teddy’s letters were filled with interesting stories of jaunts here and there, when he had time to himself. He spoke’more than once of the alacrity with which he was picking up the French language. A pretty French girl, Jeanne de Naeyer, A'hom he had met at a canteen, was giving him-les-sons on every available occasion. Oh, he would come back to June'quite an 'accomplished French student, and he hoped she wqs not being too lonely. The war dragged on and June finished her training, grew even more lovely, with a more serious expression in her eyes, forced there by the knowledge she was gaining of the suffering la this world.

■lnstead of being sent to France, Nurse June was sent to a base hospital “somewhere on Long’island” to take care of the poor wounded soldiers who were being brought home by every boat. Sipe bed little time for letter writing now. Her leisure hours, many of them, were spent with Doctor Buchanan, studying, always learning, more thoroughly the requirements of a good nurse. Without having become aware of it, .she had become very fond of the able surgeon who had done z sp much for her throughout her trailing. And she had not noticed that he sought her out on every Theirs Was a'serious sort oif companionship and they had been drawn together almost daily in their work. Letters from Captain Teddy, now In action, still referred to Jeanne, the little French girl. He spoke rather casually of her—.rather too casually, June thought once or twlcp, but she seemed not to mind. “Did you ever realize what a dangerous thing propinquity is?” she asked Doctor Buchanan one night, when they were leaving the grounds of the big base hospital for a couple of hours of rest from duty. “Dangerous?” he asked. She nodded. “Yes —dangerous. Now, don’t think I’m going to weep and have hysterics or be love-sick at what I’m going to tell you. You know I’m not that sort—don’t you, by this time?”

he longed to tell her what a wonderand of how he would like to write the letters high everywhere.' That French girl! How glad he was that she bad happened to be there—ls that was what caused Captain Teddy to fall out of love with June Prince. “Wouldn’t you call it a danger?” she was asking. a "No—l should not" “When you realize that falling in love must be onlyjtJnatter Of propinquity, doesn’t that seem rather dreadful?” - - • “Dreadful—dreadful I” mocked the doctor, patiently, waiting for his turn. “And all your young ideals are smashed —your Ideals which Inchide the one and only man in the world no matter where he be?” ' The doctor looked at_her. “Dare I tell you, June, what I think of propinquity?” “But—of course—why not?” said June. .. He took her arm and tucked it under his as they strolled beneath the old Long Island trees that surrounded the hospital. “I think it is the greatest thing in the world, dear. It has been propinquity that has shown, me the beautiful character, the sweetness, the dearness of you. 1 love you and I’m going to make you love me, and you may write to yOur one-time captain that have Intuitively felt he was falling in love with the pretty French girl, and that you—well, you are not too lonely. Will you, June? Will you go on making ours a case of propinquity?” Now that It had come, June knew she had long expected it. “Yes. I think I’ve been happier in these three years of working side by side with you than —than I’ve ever been in my life. Wouldn’t it have been dreadful If—” She blushed and hesitated. ‘ He leaned down to look Into her face. “If /Teddy hadn’t found the French girl?”