Nancy, herself, had really dreaded this final ordeal, but having to bolster Shorty’s confidence left her little thought for her own fears. She shoved her little friend through the door saying, “Now, put on the mask—quick!”

Shorty already had her mask over her face when Nancy followed through the door. In spite of their speed their trembling hands fumbled a bit before the masks could be put into place, and so they felt a bit of stinging. When they were securely masked, however, Nancy urged the excited girl toward the back door.

“It wasn’t so bad after all, was it?” asked Nancy, after she jerked her mask off and filled her lungs with fresh air.

“Could’ve been worse. But I guess I never would have got through at all, Nancy, if you hadn’t made me,” Shorty admitted in a shamefaced manner.

“Hope we don’t ever have to use these for the real thing,” Mabel said.

“I heard a major, just returned from overseas, tell about how the Japs often cry ‘Wolf’ about gas,” said Nancy, sitting on the brown pine carpet with the others to rest a bit.

“What do you mean—cry wolf?” asked Shorty.

“When our men are coming ashore from the landing craft the Japs often throw up a smoke-screen and cry, ‘Gas’. They say there’s nothing breaks the men’s morale easier than the fear of gas,” Nancy explained.

“That’s just too horrible to conceive of,” said Ida Hall.

“At least it’s consoling to know it hasn’t been used so far,” put in Mabel.

“No telling what they’ll do at the desperate end,” Nancy warned them. “I don’t mean to miss a trick in these gas-mask drills.”

“I heard we’ll have to go through the gas chamber again at the port of embarkation,” Ida Hall informed them.

“Good night!” flared Shorty. “As if three times would not be enough.”

“These masks belong at the training center. They’ll issue us new ones at the port. We have to test them out,” Ida explained.

The weather had turned warm and Nancy was glad to get back to their quarters and have a good shower when the day’s classes and drills were over.

Mail came twice a day, and the nurses always haunted their boxes right after breakfast and just 

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