Cherry Ames 24 Companion Nurse

CHERRY AMES, COMPANION NURSE

TITLES BY HELEN WELLS

Cherry Ames, Student Nurse
Cherry Ames, Senior Nurse

Cherry Ames, Army Nurse

Cherry Ames, Chief Nurse

Cherry Ames, Flight Nurse

Cherry Ames, Veterans’ Nurse
Cherry Ames, Private Duty Nurse
Cherry Ames, Visiting Nurse
Cherry Ames, Cruise Nurse

Cherry Ames, Boarding School Nurse
Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse
Cherry Ames, Camp Nurse

Cherry Ames at Hilton Hospital
Cherry Ames, Island Nurse

Cherry Ames, Rural Nurse

Cherry Ames, Staff Nurse

Cherry Ames, Companion Nurse
Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse

Cherry Ames, The Mystery in the Doctor’s Offi ce
Cherry Ames, Ski Nurse Mystery
CHERRY AMES NURSE STORIES

CHERRY AMES

COMPANION

NURSE

By

HELEN WELLS

Copyright © 1964 by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.

Copyright © renewed 2008 by Harriet Schulman Forman Springer Publishing Company, LLC

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Springer Publishing Company, LLC

11 West 42nd Street

New York, NY 10036-8002

www.springerpub.com

Acquisitions Editor: Sally J. Barhydt Series Editor: Harriet S. Forman Production Editor: Carol Cain

Cover design: Mimi Flow

Composition: Apex Publishing, LLC

08 09 10 11/ 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wells, Helen, 1910–

[Cherry Ames, companion nurse]

Companion nurse / by Helen Wells.

p. cm. — (Cherry Ames nurse stories) Summary: Cherry enjoys traveling through Great Britain as a private nurse for historical novelist Martha Logan, but the museums they visit are plagued by a perplexing series of art thefts.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8261-0431-1 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8261-0431-2 (alk. paper)

[1. Nurses—Fiction. 2. Art thefts—Fiction. 3. Art museums—Fiction.

4. Museums—Fiction. 5. Great Britain—History—Elizabeth II, 1952—Fiction.

6. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.

PZ7.W4644Cdd 2007

[Fic]—dc22

2007035485

Printed in the United States of America by Bang Printing
Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii I Spencer Club Reunion . . . . . . . . 1

II Nurse’s Vacation . . . . . . . . . . .11

III Flight to London . . . . . . . . . .30

IV An Eventful Week . . . . . . . . . .47

V Cherry Meets Peter Again . . . . . .61

VI A Fantastic Visitor . . . . . . . . . .79

VII At The Cat and Fiddle . . . . . . . 102

VIII Muir 2361 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

IX The Doll-Clothes Shop . . . . . . . 142

X End of a Bad Actor . . . . . . . . . 151

v

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Foreword

Helen Wells, the author of the Cherry Ames stories, said, “I’ve always thought of nursing, and perhaps you have, too, as just about the most exciting, important, and rewarding profession there is. Can you think of any other skill that is
always
needed by everybody, everywhere?”

I was and still am a fan of Cherry Ames. Her courageous dedication to her patients; her exciting escapades; her thirst for knowledge; her intelligent application of her nursing skills; and the respect she achieved as a registered nurse (RN) all made it clear to me that I was going to follow in her footsteps and become a nurse—

nothing else would do.

Thousands of other young readers were motivated by Cherry Ames to become RNs as well. Through her thought-provoking stories, Cherry Ames led a steady stream of students into schools of nursing across the country well into the 1960s and 1970s when the series ended.

vii

viii
FOREWORD

Readers who remember enjoying these books in the past will take pleasure in reading them again now—

whether or not they chose nursing as their life’s work.

Perhaps they will share them with others and even motivate a person or two to choose nursing as their career.

My nursing path has been rich and satisfying. I have delivered babies, cared for people in hospitals and in their homes, and saved lives. I have worked at the bed-side and served as an administrator, I have published journals, written articles, taught students, consulted, and given expert testimony. Never once did I regret my decision to become a nurse.

During the time I was publishing a nursing journal, I became acquainted with Robert Wells, brother of Helen Wells. In the course of conversation I learned that Ms. Wells had passed on and left the Cherry Ames copyright to Mr. Wells. Because there is a shortage of nurses here in the US today, I thought, “Why not bring Cherry back to motivate a whole new genera-tion of young people? Why not ask Mr. Wells for the copyright to Cherry Ames?” Mr. Wells agreed, and the republished series is dedicated both to Helen Wells, the original author, and to her brother, Robert Wells, who transferred the rights to me. I am proud to ensure the continuation of Cherry Ames into the twenty-fi rst century.

The fi nal dedication is to you, both new and former readers of Cherry Ames: It is my dream that you enjoy Cherry’s nursing skills as well as her escapades. I hope
FOREWORD

ix

that young readers will feel motivated to choose nursing as their life’s work. Remember, as Helen Wells herself said: there’s no other skill that’s “
always
needed by everybody, everywhere.”

Harriet Schulman Forman, RN, EdD

Series Editor

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CHERRY AMES, COMPANION NURSE

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c h a p t e r i

Spencer Club Reunion

“come in, cherry!” bertha unlocked and swung open the door to the Spencer Club’s apartment.

“Cherry must go in fi rst,” Mai Lee insisted. “She’s the guest of honor!”

Josie, reaching out for Cherry’s suitcase, said, “I’ll take it. You go on in—and welcome back!” Cherry relinquished the suitcase and bowed. “Fellow nurses, I thank you!” She walked into the small, attractive gold-and-white living room, and laughed when she saw the banner draped across the room. In large, amateurishly printed, red-crayon letters it read: WELCOME, CHERRY! S.C.’S MOST

FAMOUS MEMBER!

“Famous or infamous,” Cherry said. “That’s a really wonderful welcome! Shall I make a speech of thanks?” 1

2
CHERRY

AMES,

COMPANION

NURSE

“Just sit down and cool off,” said Josie, who put down Cherry’s suitcase and sat on it, puffi ng.

It was hot in the New York apartment at eight o’clock on a Wednesday evening in late August. But it was home in a special sense—this rather cramped Green-wich Village apartment that the Spencer Club nurses shared whenever any or all of them were in New York.

Cherry dropped on the sofa and said cheerfully:

“It was even hotter at home in Hilton, Illinois, when I left this afternoon.” She mopped her rosy face. “You were dears to come all the way out to the airport to meet me. Oh, I’m so glad to see all of you! But where’s Gwen? I thought she’d be home by now.” Mai Lee, a dainty Chinese-American girl, sat down beside Cherry. “Gwen phoned before we left. She’s still working, poor dear, on some sort of emergency. You know late hours can’t be helped, on private duty—” Mai Lee affectionately squeezed Cherry’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

Josie Franklin pushed her glasses up on her forehead and blinked. “Me, too. Only for a fellow Spencer Clubber would I go all the way out to Idlewild.” Bertha Larsen, all smiles, came in from the kitchen carrying a tray with glasses and a pitcher of lemonade.

She was a big, hearty farm girl from Minnesota. Bertha passed the cool drinks, saying, “I wish some of our Spencer Club members weren’t away just when you’re here, Cherry. They’d love to see you.”

“I’d like to see them, too,” Cherry said. “But then, we’re rarely all together at one time.” She beamed at her

SPENCER CLUB REUNION

3

friends and they smiled warmly at Cherry. She was the one who had started the Spencer Club, back in their nursing school days at Spencer Hospital. Her friends called her “our spark plug,” adding “Cherry makes things happen.” Cherry’s high spirits showed in her shining dark eyes, her vivid face, and in the way she tossed back her crisp, dark curls. “How’s Vivian?” she asked. “And Ann? And Marie Swift?” They, too, were Cherry’s former classmates from nursing school, and Spencer Club members. “How are your jobs?”

Before they could tell her, the telephone rang. Bertha, who answered, reported it was Gwen Jones, still at her job and asking to speak to Cherry.

Cherry went to the telephone. Gwen’s excited voice came on.

“Cherry? . . . Hello! There’s a special reason why I’m glad you’re in New York!”

“What reason? Come on home, Gwen, I’m longing to see you.”

“Coming in a minute, but I have to check something with you fi rst. How long is your vacation? Didn’t you write us that you have a month? And that you have no defi nite plans?”

Cherry said, mystifi ed, “That’s right. I have some ideas—”

“Well, how would you like to go to England?”

“Wha-a-at?”

“I’ll explain when I get there,” Gwen said hastily. “Be there in a few minutes. . . . Yes, I said England. G’by,” and Gwen hung up.

4
CHERRY

AMES,

COMPANION

NURSE

Cherry repeated the conversation to Bertha, Josie, and Mai Lee. “I think Gwen’s out of her mind.”

“Well,” Mai Lee murmured, “when she phoned for us not to wait supper for her, she did say something about a pretty special sort of emergency.”

“What’s England got to do with it?” Josie asked.

Placidly, Bertha said they would fi nd out soon.

Cherry tried to control her own curiosity. While waiting for Gwen, the other three brought her up to date on Spencer Club news. Marie Swift was on vacation.

Vivian Warren was working for a surgeon out West, and loving it. Ann Evans was in Canada with her husband.

Bertha reported with enthusiasm on her job as clinic nurse in a settlement house here in New York, near the girls’ apartment. Gwen and Josie were on private-duty cases. Mai Lee, now a pediatrician’s nurse, said that working with children “is the happiest nursing I ever did. . . . Cherry, it’s your turn to report.”

“Yes, how did you like working with the new junior volunteers at Hilton Hospital this past summer?” Mai Lee asked.

“Our teenage Jayvees are a wonderful help at the hospital,” Cherry said, “especially in view of the nurse shortage.”

The other girls nodded. There simply were not enough nurses to go around. Every nurse had too many patients and worried about having insuffi cient time to give each patient the fullest attention and care.

“I must admit that helping train the junior volunteers was a load, on top of my job as staff nurse,” Cherry

SPENCER CLUB REUNION

5

said. “I’m really ready for my vacation. England
would
be a wonderful place to spend it.” Mai Lee gave her tinkling laugh. “Look at her! She’s all ready to go, at the drop of a hat.” The door fl ew open and Gwen Jones burst in. “What a day I’ve had!” she exclaimed. “Where’s Cherry?” Gwen’s short red hair stood on end and her freckled face was smudged. In other words, she was her usual exuber-ant self. “Cherry! Hello!” She and Cherry hugged each other. “Hi, kids,” Gwen said to the others, and all but bounced down onto the couch. “Have I ever some exciting news to tell you! Gosh, I’m starving—” Bertha, who was the Spencer Club’s best and chief cook, brought in the heaping plateful of homemade potato salad and cold roast beef she had saved for Gwen. Josie solemnly poured her a glass of iced lemonade. Gwen dashed out to wash her hands, then dashed back, sat down, and offered the plate of food to Cherry.