AMANDA AND THE OTHERS WERE TAKEN BY AMBULANCE TO A small private hospital a few miles south of San Francisco on the Oakland side of the bay. They were checked over, cleaned up, and given food and water, quickly followed by a very short haircut. They drank several glasses of orange juice like it was an elixir from heaven. They thought they could feel the effects of their scurvy receding with each swallow.
It was better than marvelous to have a full belly and be in a bed, lying on clean sheets, and not have to be afraid of rogue waves, thirst, or starvation. They’d been surprised by the number of cuts and bruises all over their bodies, but these were beginning to heal and salves had been applied to their worst sunburns. With their physical recoveries beginning, their minds began to clear from the shock of their ordeal. They’d answered a few questions asked by local police, but otherwise were left alone.
The hospital they’d been sent to overlooked San Francisco Bay and the view from their window was breathtaking. Even so, it was difficult to realize that they’d actually made it across the ocean, and that they were back in the bosom of civilization.
They had their own small ward, including toilet and shower, and reveled in the privacy. Sandy was the first to notice that there was an armed sailor on guard at the door and wondered why. Surely they weren’t prisoners, were they? Amanda decided to try him. He looked harmless enough, just a skinny teenager, even though he did have a .45 strapped to his waist.
“Mind if I go down the hall and visit some of the other nurses?” Amanda asked sweetly even though her chapped lips hurt when she smiled. She thought she must look like a half-bald, half-starved monster to him.
The young sailor was clearly uncomfortable. “Sorry, ma’am, but I have my orders to make sure you stay here for the time being.”
“And if I pushed my way past you?” He wasn’t that big and she thought the three of them could do it easily enough, and she wondered if he even knew how to use the pistol.
The sailor gulped. “I would really appreciate if you didn’t. Look, I have no idea what’s going on and I would really thank you if you didn’t get me into trouble. Captain Harding will be back in a bit.”
“Are we prisoners?” Sandy inquired bluntly.
“No, ma’am. I’m here mainly to keep people out and leave you alone. And nobody told me why, so please don’t ask.”
They looked at each other and sat back on beds that didn’t seem quite so comfortable anymore. They checked their meager personal possessions, each in their own hospital pillowcase. Along with salt-crusted watches that didn’t work anymore and rings that wouldn’t fit their swollen fingers, they had Mack’s money belt containing over five thousand dollars. The cash included what remained of the three thousand they’d given Mack along with other money Mack had brought along.
“For an embezzler, he didn’t have all that much dough,” Grace said, “but we do have his will.”
Other than the inadequate hospital gowns and bathrobes they had on over them, they had no clothing. What they’d been wearing on the catamaran had been properly identified as rags and disposed of. They had an urge to go shopping.
There was a knock on their door and a Marine captain entered after a suitable pause. “Ladies, I am Captain Harding and I’m sorry I’m late, and I hope I can answer all your questions. I’m also happy you didn’t bully that poor young man at the door. He’s much better with a typewriter than a weapon.”
“Are we prisoners, and if so, why?” Amanda said.
Harding smiled slightly at the blunt question and sat down in a wooden chair. “You are not prisoners. We—the government, that is—just want to be sure of what is said by you when you leave here. We’re primarily concerned about your amazing story getting too much publicity at this time.”
“Why?” Grace asked.
“Because,” Harding said sadly, “we don’t want others in Hawaii getting the idea they can do it as well. To the best of our knowledge, maybe twenty small boats like yours have tried to sail from Hawaii to here, and you here are the only ones who’ve made it. The rest have just plain disappeared, swallowed up by the ocean. I don’t know if you have any idea just how fortunate you were.”
They looked at each other. “There were times when we thought we’d disappear as well,” Amanda said softly. A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it away. “We’d almost lost hope and were on our last legs when we landed here.”
“And you had advantages that no longer exist to anyone else who might want to try now,” Harding continued. “When you started you had a goodly supply of food and water, which others won’t have, and you were in pretty good physical shape which is no longer the case in Hawaii where people are already going hungry and getting weaker by the day. In short, few people in the islands would be strong enough to take on the Pacific like you did. This may surprise you, but we still have radio communication with the islands, and we don’t want those poor people getting any ideas about leaving if they find out you made it.”
The three women looked at each other in silent agreement. They’d had such a small margin of error and nearly died. Others would surely perish.
“So what do we do?” Sandy asked. “We’ve all got families and we want them to know we’re all right.”
“Just send them telegrams saying that you are safe in California and that you got out via a neutral freighter. Tell them you’ll elaborate later. And later will come when we either liberate the islands or the war is over. When that happens, you can write a book or proclaim your truly wonderful story from the mountaintops for all anybody cares. In the meantime, we just don’t want anybody else to die trying.”
“That’s good,” said Amanda. “We’re all nurses, you know, and we’d like to go back to being that. Along with needing to earn a living, we’d like to be helpful. Now, how do we get back to work, and we’d prefer San Diego.”
Harding grinned. “Ever think of enlisting? We’d make you officers right off.”
“No,” Amanda said, and the others nodded. “We enlist and we could get sent anywhere in the world. No, thank you, but I’ll stay in California.” She didn’t add that she wanted to find Tim Dane, although Harding’s expression told her he understood her motives.
Harding stood. For the first time, Amanda noticed that his left hand was permanently set in a claw and that he had a Purple Heart on his chest.
“Where?” she asked, looking at the medal.
“The Philippines. I was in the Fourth Marine Regiment and got lucky. I was wounded very early on and evacuated before the place was cut off by the Japs. All I lost was the use of my left hand. I’m right-handed so it’s not that much of a loss.”
Grace took his arm and examined the hand. There were burn scars on his wrist and forearm. “Can you use it at all?”
“A little, and they say it’ll get better.” Harding gently pushed her hand away. “Based on the info you gave us, we’ve been contacting your schools and places you worked before going to Honolulu to establish your credentials so you can go to work in your field. When that is done, you’ll be free to travel to San Diego or wherever else your hearts desire. Do you agree to keep this whole thing quiet, at least for the time being?”
As usual, Amanda spoke for them. “Of course. We wouldn’t want anybody to die as a result of our actions. However, I do have to wonder if staying in Hawaii is the better choice for starving people.”
“So do I, and so do a lot of people,” he said. “We can all only hope and pray that we make the right decisions.”
“Are we still restricted to here?” Stacy asked.
“Nope. Now that we’ve talked and come to an agreement, you’re free to go and do whatever you want. Housing’s really short around here, so you might want to stay here for a while, gather your strength, and let the government pay for your room and board until things get squared away regarding your work status.”