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costs money over there.” He vanished back into his own territory, the anesthetic room, where the ward nurse would see to his needs until the patient came into the operating theater.
    Sally stared worriedly toward the scrubbing-up room. Should she ask Nurse Jones to lay up a transfusion trolley just in case...? She was relieved to see George Brown ’ s familiar figure come through the door first. He came across to her trolley.
    “What ’ s the matter, Sally? You don ’ t look very happy tonight. You couldn ’ t be afraid of our Yankee surgeon, by any chance?”
    “Not of him ... but for him. I suppose no intravenous means no blood in the fridge.”
    “Ssh! Don ’ t tell a soul, but there is some ... just in case.” There was an understanding twinkle in George ’ s dark eyes.
    “Bless you,” Sally whispered fervently. “How are things ... in there?” She gestured vaguely toward the far door.
    He chuckled. “I left dear Claris entertaining Tremayne. If we let Hollywood be our guide he ’ ll be used to such syrupy gush! She makes me ashamed for your sex, Sally dear, and that ’ s no lie. I ’ d hate her for herself even if it hadn ’ t been for Roy.”
    “Are you helping with the two first cases?”
    He nodded. “Unofficially she ’ s supposed to be assisting with the second one, but yours truly is very handy at getting in the way and helping from the wrong side.”
    A loud click as the anesthetic room door was hooked back brought Sally ’ s little team into smoothly rehearsed action. She was pleased to notice that the ward had thoughtfully sent up a male nurse to help with the lifting and positioning of the patient on the operating table—always a lengthy and fiddlesome procedure as the patient had to be face down and yet accessible to the anesthetist as well. Sally breathed a secret sigh of relief that it was safely accomplished before two people came in from the scrubbing-up room. She braced herself for the surgeon ’ s inevitable fault-finding.
    “Will you proceed with the skin paint, please?”
    The simple request took Sally almost by surprise and her hand gave an unexpected tremble as she got down to work applying the orange liquid with broad, sure strokes until the whole of the back had been covered. Mutely she held out the first of the sterile towels.
    He shook his head. “You carry on and towel up, Nurse. If I want anything different, I ’ ll let you know ... s ome other time.”
    Sally began to relax. This was going to be easier than she thought. Swiftly she arranged the sterile towels and clipped them into place and stood back waiting for the surgeon and his assistants to position themselves before pulling up her Mayo tray and trolleys. She could see Nurse Jones moving the suction machine so that her sterile tubing could be connected, and the junior was standing by the switches.
    “Patient okay for me to begin, Doc?” John B. Tremayne glanced at the anesthetist, and if he was nervous he gave no sign. “How about letting me have your sharpest scalpel, Nurse, and if you could give Dr. Stornoway a handful of Kellys she could make herself useful by passing them over.”
    Sally could sense her smooth pattern was crumbling into unaccustomed chaos and wasn ’ t quite sure how to stop it, but George stepped in and put her spinning world to rights.
    “I think you ’ ll find we use Spencer Wells over here, sir, if you can make do with them, and Staff Nurse has been trained to pass them to the surgeon herself. Perhaps Dr. Stornoway could swab for you.”
    It was so tactfully done that Sally could scarcely believe it was George, and to her secret relief her new chief only nodded. “Carry on as usual. I ’ m here to learn after all, I guess.” Sally watched the operation proceed with critical eyes, conscious that she was comparing his surgery with that of her English chiefs. She knew that she wasn ’ t being quite fair and perhaps she was being insular in expecting the American to fall below