He woke. He knew they had moved him to another bed; slight hope replaced the thought of inevitable death. He lay motionless, his one eye fixed on the canvas roof of the tenti unable to move his head. A nurse came over to study a chart and then him. He slept.
He woke. How much time had passed? Another nurse. This time he could see a little more and - joy, oh joy - he could move his.head, if only with great pain. He lay awake as long as he possibly could; he wanted to live. He slept.
He woke. Four doctors were studying him, deciding what? He could not hear them and so learnt nothing.
They moved him once again. This time he was able to watch them put him in an army ambulance. The doors closed behind'him, the engine started, and the ambulance began to move over rough ground while a new nurse sat by his side holding him steady. The journey felt like an hour, but he no longer could be sure of time. Tle ambulance reached smoother ground and then came to a halt. Once again they moved him. This time they were walking on a flat surface and then up some stairs into a dark room. They waited again and then the room began to move, another car perhaps. The room took off. Ile nurse stuck another needle into him, and he remembered nothing until he felt a plane landing and ta3ding to a halt. They moved him yet again.
Another ambulance, another nurse, another smell, another city. New York, or at least America, he thought, no other smell Eke that in the world. The new ambulance took him over another smooth surface, continually stopping and starting, until it finally arrived at where it wanted to be. They carried him out once again and up some more steps into a small white - walled room. They placed him in a comfortable bed. He felt his head touch the pillow, and when next he woke, thought he was totally alone. Then his eye focused and he saw Kate standing in front of him. He tried to lift his hand and touch her, to speak, but no words came. She smiled, but he knew she could not see his smile, and when he woke again Kate was still there but wearing a different dress. Or had she come and gone many times? She smiled again. How long had it been? He tried to move his head a little, and saw his son Richard, so tall, so good - looking. He wanted to see his daughters, but couldn~t move his head any further. They moved into his fine of vision, Virginia - she couldn't be that old, and Lucy, it wasn't possible. Where had the years gone? He slept.
He woke. No one was there, but now he could move his head. Some bandages had been removed and he could see more clearly; he tried to say something, but no words came. He slept.
He woke. Less bandages than before. Kate was there again, her fair hair longer, now falling to her shoulders, her soft grown eyes and unforgettable smile, looking beautif4 so beautiful. He said her name - She smiled. He slept.
He woke. Even fewer bandages than before. This time his son spoke.
Richard said, 'Hello, Daddy.'
He heard him and replied, 'Hello, Richard,, but didn!t recognise the sound of his own voice. The nurse helped him to sit up ready.to greet his family. He thanked her. A doctor touched his shoulder.
'The worst is over, Mr. Kane. YouIl soon be well, and then you can return home.'
He smiled as Kate came into the room, followed by Viz - ginia and Lucy. So many questions to ask them. Where should he begin? There was gaps in his memory that demanded satisfaction. Kate told him that he had nearly died.
He knew that but had not realised that over a year had passed since his division had been ambushed in the forest at Remagen.
Where had the months of being unaware gone, life lost resembling death? Richard was almost twelve, already hoping to go to Havard, Virginia was nine, and Lucy nearly seven. Their dresses seemed rather short. He would have to get to know them all over again.
Kate was somehow more beautiful than William even remembered her. She told William how she never learned to face the fact that he might have died, how well Richard was doing at Buckley and how Virginia and Lucy needed a father. She braced herself to tell hiiin of the scars on his face and chest that would never heal and thanked God that the doctors felt certain there would be nothing wrong with his mind and his sight would be restored. Now all she wanted to do was help him recover. Kate slowly, William quickly.
Each member of the family played their part in the pro. cess. First sound, then sight, then speech. Richard helped his father to walk, until he no longer needed the crutches. Lucy helped him with his food, until he could feed himself once more and Virginia read Mark Twain to him.
William was not sure if the reading was for her benefit or his, they both enjoyed it so much. And then at last, after Christmas had passed, they allowed him to return to his own home.
Once William was back in East Sixty - eighth Street, he recovered more quickly, and his doctors were predicting that he would be able to return to work at the bank within six months. A little scarred, but very much alive, he was allowed to see visitors.