The Purple Plain Page #2

- No.

l try to keep my patients alive.

Thou shalt not kill but need not strive

officiously to keep alive.

- Did you ever hear that saying?

- Frequently.

Come on, get in.

l see.

A nice jeep ride, a cozy chat--

a medical inspection.

Okay, Doc.

Very tactfully arranged.

Well, l have to gain

my patients' confidence somehow.

Another one of my patients.

That's the dispensary.

l'll take you over later.

Off with you, you little devils!

Here we are.

This is for you.

Now hop it.

They're wonderful kids.

l love them all.

What is this place?

lt used to belong to a planter.

Now Miss McNab's got it.

- Who's she?

- Missionary. Runs the school.

But she won't be here today.

Ah, here's Dorothy.

- Good afternoon, Doctor.

- Hello, Dorothy.

l've brought a friend,

Squadron Leader Forrester.

He's a pilot.

Dorothy's from Rangoon.

- Glad to know you.

- How do you do?

Dorothy, my dear,

we're thirsty men.

Of course.

Please sit down, Mr. Forrester,

and l will get you

something cold to drink.

That's very kind of you.

Lime juice, please.

The lime juice is wonderful.

- Whatever you wish.

- The lime juice will be just fine.

- Where's Anna?

- At the dispensary.

- She'll be back soon.

- Oh, good.

- l managed to bring a little rice.

- Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.

Please sit down,

and l will get the lime.

Thank you.

l usually try and bring them

something for the kitchen.

Fruit's all right,

but not all the time.

They can't buy food.

They came here

stripped of everything,

all the way from Rangoon.

Can you imagine what it

must have been like?

Hundreds of miles.

l don't know how any of them

ever got through alive.

l hope l didn't waken you.

l'm sorry, l must have

fallen asleep for a moment.

Several moments.

Where's the doctor?

He and Dorothy went down

to the dispensary.

l'm Anna.

How do you do?

My name's Forrester.

l know.

They sent me up here

to see if you were all right.

They said that you'd gone to sleep

even before you had time to have a drink.

Well, that was very rude of me.

lt was very, very rude.

But no one minded at all.

Please sit down.

Thank you.

That's the best lime

l've ever tasted.

When one is thirsty,

it always tastes better.

- Have you been in Burma long?

- About three months.

- Do you like it?

- Well, l don't know really.

Life's pretty much the same

on an airfield, whatever country you're in.

Except that it's hotter here.

When the cooler weather comes,

you may like it better.

Oh, l don't dislike it.

l just don't know it.

No one knows it,

not all of Burma.

Rice and rubies--

that's about all l knew about Burma

before l came here.

There are stones here

if you wish to buy them, Mr. Forrester.

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