up. âStay here,â she sighed. âIâll see what I can do. But youâre upsetting our system.â
In ten minutes Norah got her way. The nurse returned and took them both to a building called Falconer House, to a room with four beds in it. Norahâs luggage was already there and a boy arrived with Gavinâs just as they did. The beds were labelled and Norah noticed that theothers belonged to Goosey and Loosey.
âI have to go, but someone will check on you in a few minutes,â said the nurse. Her voice was kinder now, but Norah was too tired to answer her.
âGet into bed,â she told Gavin after the nurse had left. He obeyed mutely, curling into a tight ball. Norah tucked the blanket around him. She felt the mattress and was relieved to find a rubber sheet.
She buried herself in her own stiff, clean sheets. She was so worn out, she scarcely heard the Smiths when they came in a few minutes later.
T HEY STAYED at the university for a week. Everyone was very kind and welcoming, but Norah began to feel she was in prison. The campus grounds were spacious and she longed to run on her own under the large trees or cross the busy street, where the cars drove on the wrong side. The bustling city surrounding the university seemed as big and exciting as London. But Boy Scouts stood on guard all day outside Hart House, where the children ate and played. âTheyâre to keep away curious strangers,â the adults said, but Norah thought they were to keep them in.
The only time the children left the campus was for a visit to a hospital, where each of them was examined in much more detail than in either Hart House or Liverpool. Norah had to take off all her clothes while a doctor checked every inch of her body, from her hair to her toes, including the embarrassing parts in the middle. She was X-rayed, her knees were hammered and a blood samplewas taken from her finger. Then she was given several injections and pushed and prodded until her body didnât seem to belong to her any more. Canadians seemed to think that British children carried some dreadful disease.
Another doctor asked her questions: what her parents were like, who her friends were at home, and what she liked to do best. It was so painful to talk about home that Norah answered him in short, clipped sentences. When he asked her in his kind voice how she felt about being evacuated, she just mumbled âFineâ to keep from crying. âI guess youâre a shy one,â said the doctor. âYouâll soon feel more talkative in your new family.â
Once more, Gavin was taken off her hands. Now he trailed after Miss Carmichael, who looked after their dormitory and, as well, was in charge of all the children under nine. She was a softer, prettier version of Miss Montague-Scott; not as hearty, but just as school-teacherish.
âWhat a well-behaved child Gavin is!â said Miss Carmichael. âAnd such an attractive little boy, with those huge eyes and delicate features.â She kept the younger children constantly occupied. Gavin came back to the room each evening with paint on his clothes and grass-stained knees. He seemed calmer, but he kept wetting his bed every night and he was strangely still, as if a light had gone out inside him.
The woman in charge of the older children kept encouraging Norah to participate in the organized activities. Part of Norah wanted to forget her troubles and run relay races and swim in the pool with the rest. But a kindof stubbornness had set in her, a mood that had always exasperated her motherâshe called it her âblack cloudâ mood. When Norah felt like this she almost took pleasure in not enjoying or being grateful for what the grown-ups offered.
âYou should join in more,â Margery told her. âYouâd like it here better if you did.â
Norah knew she would, just as she knew she should be paying more attention to Gavin. But the black
In ten minutes Norah got her way. The nurse returned and took them both to a building called Falconer House, to a room with four beds in it. Norahâs luggage was already there and a boy arrived with Gavinâs just as they did. The beds were labelled and Norah noticed that theothers belonged to Goosey and Loosey.
âI have to go, but someone will check on you in a few minutes,â said the nurse. Her voice was kinder now, but Norah was too tired to answer her.
âGet into bed,â she told Gavin after the nurse had left. He obeyed mutely, curling into a tight ball. Norah tucked the blanket around him. She felt the mattress and was relieved to find a rubber sheet.
She buried herself in her own stiff, clean sheets. She was so worn out, she scarcely heard the Smiths when they came in a few minutes later.
T HEY STAYED at the university for a week. Everyone was very kind and welcoming, but Norah began to feel she was in prison. The campus grounds were spacious and she longed to run on her own under the large trees or cross the busy street, where the cars drove on the wrong side. The bustling city surrounding the university seemed as big and exciting as London. But Boy Scouts stood on guard all day outside Hart House, where the children ate and played. âTheyâre to keep away curious strangers,â the adults said, but Norah thought they were to keep them in.
The only time the children left the campus was for a visit to a hospital, where each of them was examined in much more detail than in either Hart House or Liverpool. Norah had to take off all her clothes while a doctor checked every inch of her body, from her hair to her toes, including the embarrassing parts in the middle. She was X-rayed, her knees were hammered and a blood samplewas taken from her finger. Then she was given several injections and pushed and prodded until her body didnât seem to belong to her any more. Canadians seemed to think that British children carried some dreadful disease.
Another doctor asked her questions: what her parents were like, who her friends were at home, and what she liked to do best. It was so painful to talk about home that Norah answered him in short, clipped sentences. When he asked her in his kind voice how she felt about being evacuated, she just mumbled âFineâ to keep from crying. âI guess youâre a shy one,â said the doctor. âYouâll soon feel more talkative in your new family.â
Once more, Gavin was taken off her hands. Now he trailed after Miss Carmichael, who looked after their dormitory and, as well, was in charge of all the children under nine. She was a softer, prettier version of Miss Montague-Scott; not as hearty, but just as school-teacherish.
âWhat a well-behaved child Gavin is!â said Miss Carmichael. âAnd such an attractive little boy, with those huge eyes and delicate features.â She kept the younger children constantly occupied. Gavin came back to the room each evening with paint on his clothes and grass-stained knees. He seemed calmer, but he kept wetting his bed every night and he was strangely still, as if a light had gone out inside him.
The woman in charge of the older children kept encouraging Norah to participate in the organized activities. Part of Norah wanted to forget her troubles and run relay races and swim in the pool with the rest. But a kindof stubbornness had set in her, a mood that had always exasperated her motherâshe called it her âblack cloudâ mood. When Norah felt like this she almost took pleasure in not enjoying or being grateful for what the grown-ups offered.
âYou should join in more,â Margery told her. âYouâd like it here better if you did.â
Norah knew she would, just as she knew she should be paying more attention to Gavin. But the black
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