Читать книгу Peggy Wayne, Sky Girl - Betty Baxter Anderson - Страница 3

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A NEW CAREER

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Peggy Wayne turned, half-guiltily, as the door was flung open.

“Oh, it’s you, Jane! I was scared to death it was Merry Bates coming for her nurse’s cap.”

The dark-eyed newcomer closed the door swiftly behind her. “I can’t help telling you how marvelous it looks, Peggy, with your blonde braids. Just the same, young lady, you’d better whip it off. You’d never hear the last of it if any of the other girls caught you in a graduate’s cap twelve hours too early.”

Peggy turned back to the mirror with a sigh. “Here, we’ve labored for three long years to wear these bonnets and I’m sure the last twelve hours will be the hardest.”

Jane chuckled. “You’re going to forget all that, darling, when I give you the great news. I just saw Doctor Black. He whispered a message for you—and me, incidentally. We’re both to go on duty on the three-to-eleven stint tomorrow afternoon on maternity.”

“Jane! That means we did pass the state board!”

The other girl nodded triumphantly. “And that’s not all. Do take off that cap, Peggy, before someone else comes in.”

Carefully Peggy removed the hairpins which had held the stiffly starched white cap in place. “What other news do you have, you fleet-footed bringer of glad tidings?”

“Idiot! Just for that, I’m going to keep you in suspense. You’ll have to wait until you see it for yourself.”

“Oh, come on, sweet! You know my bump of curiosity simply swells up and throbs when you tease me.”

Jane, her lovely brown eyes sparkling with fun, refused to tell more.

Peggy hurried, then, pinning on her own senior cap with its neat black velvet ribbon, and flipping her cape over her shoulders.

“Lead the way, Jane,” she cried.

The two friends hurried down the familiar corridors of the nurses’ home to the entrance lobby.

A cluster of white-clad figures, chattering excitedly, was gathered around the bulletin board. “If you can worm your way to the front, you can read the notice for yourself,” Jane told her.

Peggy finally managed to see the letter which was the center of interest.

“Headquarters of Skylines, Inc., Chicago, Ill.,” the letterhead announced. It was addressed to Miss Graves, supervisor of nurses at Iowa Wesleyan.

“I wish to inform you that I will be at Hotel Kirkwood in Des Moines on Tuesday, June 2nd, to interview applicants for position as hostesses for Skylines, Inc.

“Requirements are as follows: Girls must be registered graduate nurses between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-six; not less than five feet nor more than five feet six inches tall; and must weigh less than one hundred fifteen pounds.

“If any of the applicants appear satisfactory, I should appreciate receiving character and scholastic recommendations from you in a personal conversation. May I, then, have the pleasure of your company as my dinner guest at the hotel next Tuesday? I should also be grateful if you will post this letter where it can be seen by your graduating class, and also if you would notify any of your recent graduates in Des Moines or vicinity whom you think would be interested in an airline hostess position.

Sincerely yours,

James Hallett

Personnel director,

Skylines, Inc.”

With a happy smile Peggy squirmed her way through the half-circle of excited girls and greeted Jane again.

“Let’s go out on the terrace in the sun and talk this over,” she murmured.

Arm in arm, the two girls strolled across the lobby to a French door opening onto the stone terrace.

Merry Bates, one of the graduate nurses at the bulletin board, had turned to watch their departure. She laughed mirthlessly, shrugging her shoulders. “Girls, what chance have we, if those two decide to apply?”

A chubby, red-haired girl smoothed her uniform, chuckling. “I know I’m out, by about fifteen pounds. But I wouldn’t give up hope if I were you skinny things. After all, Mr. Hallett must be hiring quite a few hostesses if he is coming all the way to Des Moines to look for them.”

Jane and Peggy were alone on the terrace, and as they sat down on one of the benches, the blonde girl asked eagerly, “Jane, are you going to apply?”

“Indeed, I am. I’ve never told a soul because I understand it’s rather difficult to get a hostess job. But that’s really the reason I took up nursing. Years ago my uncle treated me to a ride over Des Moines in an airplane, and I’ve never gotten over the thrill of actually flying through the air.”

“Why is it so difficult to get a job with the airlines?” Peggy asked.

“It’s probably easier now than it was three or four years ago,” Jane answered, “because all the airlines have doubled or tripled their business. But I always supposed there were dozens of applicants for each of the eight or nine hundred openings.”

“I read just the other day,” Peggy objected, “that most airline hostesses marry within a year after taking the job. The turnover must be terrific.”

“I wouldn’t marry,” Jane answered serenely. “Not if I ever actually had the chance to fly—and get paid for it!”

“Don’t be so positive,” Peggy murmured. Her tone was light and amused. “By the way, how much do you get paid for it?”

“Most lines start their hostesses—or stewardesses as some of the aviation companies call them—at a hundred a month. Advancement is fairly rapid, and chief hostesses get around one hundred and sixty. Besides, you’re given meals and living expenses away from your home port.”

“You know all the answers, don’t you?” Peggy demanded.

“I should. I’ve been dreaming about it for a long time.”

“There are hidden, unsuspected depths in you. To think, I’ve lived with you for nigh onto three years, and I had no idea of what was really going on under those inky-black curls of yours.”

“Please don’t tease,” Jane burst out unexpectedly. “Peggy, will you apply with me?”

Peggy studied the round toes of her sturdy white oxfords a long moment before replying. “It does sound mighty attractive,” she admitted. “There are a few other considerations. What if Dad and Mom don’t approve?”

“Or Doctor Black?” Jane asked.

“He has nothing to do with my decisions,” Peggy answered with sudden cool dignity. But her cheeks were flaming.

Jane laughed. “Oh, yes? Then what are the other considerations?”

“The last time I weighed myself the scales said one-fourteen.”

Jane whistled. “Job or no job, young lady, you’re going to diet.”

“If you’ll help me cut out the sodas and candy, I’ll make a bargain with you,” Peggy promised. “If I get down to one-ten by next Tuesday, I’ll apply with you.”

“It’s a bargain. We’ll start right now by taking a long walk in the sunshine and skipping lunch. What say?”

Peggy agreed. Each evening during the following week before the girls tumbled into bed at midnight, Jane would weigh Peggy and record her weight on a little card. Late on Monday, the night before the Tuesday interviews, the pointer on the scales was halfway between one hundred and nine and one hundred and ten. The girls shook hands solemnly.

“I hope this means we’ll keep right on being roommates without a break,” Jane declared.

“You’re a good sort,” Peggy replied affectionately. “I’ll be pretty low when I have to see you off to a glamour-girl life on the plane in a day or two, and return to a hectic existence on night duty at Iowa Wesleyan.”

“Peggy! Don’t even think that—let alone, say it!”

“Except, after you leave, I can have all the candy and sodas I crave,” the blonde girl added, grinning impishly.

The next morning the two friends dressed with meticulous care for their interviews with James Hallett of Skylines, Inc.

It was Peggy’s idea to wear suits. “That will give him an idea of how we would look in the regulation hostess garb,” she pointed out. “We’re probably going to be up against some tough competition. We’ll want to use any helpful tricks we know.”

Jane nodded absently. “Not too much make-up—no rouge—pale fingernail polish—a light lipstick—” She paused abruptly. “Speaking of competition, I forgot to tell you that Merry Bates said that Inez Hunt is going to apply.”

The sparkling lights disappeared from Peggy’s eyes. Her voice was dull and wooden when she finally answered. “I was afraid she would. But I couldn’t help hoping that Doctor Black’s being at Iowa Wesleyan would keep her here out of my life. Jane, she’s sure to get there. No nurse has ever left this hospital with more poise, sophistication, a better scholastic record or a more beautiful face.”

“Or a harder heart,” Jane murmured. “Come, Peggy. We’d never be considered if we were late for our appointments.”