“Well, if I’m not the daughter of a sloth!” burst forth Mabel. “Here I am letting you give me an alcohol rub when you’ve already been working like a trooper for hours!” “Oh, I got a bit of sleep coming over in the car, but Miss Lewis suggested that I go to bed again till lunch time. I had breakfast with her just now.” “Not Captain Mary Lewis?” asked Mabel. Nancy nodded as she began to take off her clothes. “Well, aren’t you the lucky bloke!” exclaimed Mabel. “Hobnobbing with the majors and captains on the very day of your arrival.” “It just happened that way.” “Think of the chance you had to prove to ’em right off the bat what stuff you’re made of. Some people do have all the luck.” Nancy didn’t know just what to make of this talkative roommate, but she was too tired to care just then. She found her rumpled pajamas in the zipper bag and got them out. In the meantime Mabel was painfully putting on her uniform to report to class. “They’ll probably give you a bunch of this gear this afternoon,” Mabel said. “I never had so many new duds all at one time as they issued to me yesterday.” “Miss Hauser said I’d get my uniforms this afternoon, and be given my schedule, too. After that experience this morning I’m rather glad I don’t have to get down to business till tomorrow.” Nancy crawled into bed and was thankful to find it very comfortable. She watched her new friend straighten her tie and set her new visor cap at a rakish angle on her reddish curls. “Boy, do I feel swell in this uniform,” boasted Mabel. “It sure boosts your morale to feel you’re really one of the bunch at last. I’ve been raring to get in for months.” “So have I,” Nancy told her. “But I only graduated last month.” “Shake, sister! You’re a gal after my own heart. I just finished, too.” The irrepressible Mabel seized Nancy’s hand that lay on the spread. “I believe we’re gonner hit it off fine.” “We’ll make a team to whip the Japs,” Nancy said, entering into the spirit of her banter. “Say, that’s swell! So you want to go down under, too?”
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