"Please sit down. Your being here must mean
you're discharged from the hospital."
"Yes, I was discharged, all right," he said.
"Which means you're well again. That is fine. I'm very glad."
"I was put out to make room for a fellow in bad shape. I'm still shaky and
weak," he replied. "But I'm glad to go. I've pulled through pretty good,
and it'll not be long until I'm strong again. It was the 'flu' that kept me
down."
"You must be careful. May I ask where you're going and what you expect to
do?"
"Yes, that's what I came to tell you," he replied, frankly. "I want you to
help me a little. I'm from Illinois and my people aren't so badly off. But
I don't want to go back to my home town down and out, you know. Besides,
the winters are cold there. The doctor advises me to go to a little milder
climate. You see, I was gassed, and got the 'flu' afterward. But I know
I'll be all right if I'm careful. . . . Well, I've always had a leaning
toward agriculture, and I want to go to Kansas. Southern Kansas. I want to
travel around till I find a place I like, and there I'll get a job. Not too
hard a job at first--that's why I'll need a little money. I know what to do.
I want to lose myself in the wheat country and forget the--the war.
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