Free Lost Cause by J.R. Ayers Page B

in the ward when Jack
woke a short time later. For a moment he thought he was back in the
barracks in Brownsville preparing for another patrol into the hills
above the river. Then he moved his shoulder and remembered he was
in a hospital in Corpus Christi waiting for a surgeon to make him
well.
    Nurse Brewster came in a few minutes later
and said, “Good morning, Corporal, did you have a good night?” She
wasn’t as pretty in the harsh light as Jack remembered. She looked
tired and older and thinner than she had the day before.
    “Yes, I’m still breathing,” Jack said. “You
think I’ll get to see a doc this morning?”
    “Your nurse friend Marie Hayes is here,”
Nurse Brewster said. “I already don’t like her much.”
    “Marie’s here?”
    “Yep, checked in this morning. Seems some
priest helped her get a transfer. You happy now?”
    “My, that’s. . .that’s unexpected. Why don’t
you like her?”
    “Because she’s prettier than I. And Mrs.
Styles likes her.”
    “You’ll like her too, when you get to know
her.”
    “That’s unlikely. It doesn’t matter anyway;
I’ll still do my job to the best of my ability.”
    “The doctor?”
    “He’s coming. There’s also a barber on his
way to shave Corporal Campbell’s face so the doctor can do a
thorough examination.”
    “What about my face?” Jack whined.
    “You look better with whiskers. They fit that
roguish personality of yours.”
     
     
    The barber arrived fifteen minutes later. He
was about sixty and wore a thin mustache under a long narrow nose.
He spoke little and went right to work lathering up Campbell’s face
and honing his razor on a rawhide strop. Campbell grumbled and
complained and breathed a few curses when the barber took hold of
his chin.
    “You be careful with my face, damn it,”
Campbell snarled. “Can’t you see I got two big holes in it?”
    “Oh please, I’ve shaved much worse,” the
barber sniffed. Then he set about shaving the thick black whiskers
from Campbell’s face.
    Jack watched him work slightly amused. “Got
any news for us?” he asked a moment later.
    “News about what?”
    “The war.” The barber glanced sharply in
Jack’s direction then went back to his barbering.
    “I think the Union will prevail,” he said a
moment later. “At least I hope they do.”
    “Ah, you’re a sympathizer then?”
    “Not really. But the Union will win. It was
extremely foolish to secede in the first place.”
    “That’s a matter of opinion, sir.”
    “Yes it is. So I suggest we suspend our
conversation and let me finish shaving this man.”
    When he was finished Campbell tried to pay
him but he refused the money. “The hospital administrator will see
to my pay,” he said. “It will be gold, I don’t trust those brassy
coins you Rebels use.”
    “Get the hell out of here before I forget I’m
wounded,” Jack said coldly.”
    “As you wish,” the barber said gathering up
his barbering tools. He went out leaving Campbell’s money lying on
the table.
    Nurse Brewster came in and Jack said, “That
barber must be a damn Yankee. He wouldn’t even take Carl’s
money.”
    “Not everyone in Corpus Christi supports the
Confederacy, Corporal Saylor.”
    “Well, they should.”
    “They took a vote. Forty or so of the
citizens voted to remain in the Union. We still live in a democracy
you know.”
    “How do you live with the overbearing
bastards?”
    “By minding our own business. And they do the
same. Now get up, your breakfast will arrive soon.”
    “And a doctor?”
    “Yes, and a doctor. My goodness, you’re a
persistent boy.”
    “Just want to get better so I can chase you
around the ward.”
    “What about Nurse Hayes?”
    “Oh yeah, her. Forget what I just said.”
    “I already have.”
    Jack heard someone coming down the hallway.
He looked up and saw Marie Hayes walking toward the ward. She came
into the room and walked over to his bed.
    “Hello, Jack,” she said smiling. She looked
fresh and