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Henry arrives at the American hospital to find that it\'s not ready for him. He\'s met by an elderly woman, a Mrs. Walker, who\'s flustered at his arrival. Henry arranges tips for the porters who helped him and sets himself up in a room, despite Mrs. Walker\'s inefficiency. He sleeps, and when he awakes he\'s greeted by a nurse who\'s remarkably efficient; she washes him, takes his temperature, and makes his bed with him in it. The contrast is to be noted. Again you have the admired character, Miss Gage, who does things well, in contrast to the pitied, even scorned character, who doesn\'t. Miss Gage is right up there with the British ambulance driver in Book I.
Henry asks, once directly and twice indirectly, whether Catherine Barkley is at the hospital or whether she\'ll be coming.
Another item of some meaning is the instant animosity between Henry and the head nurse, Miss Van Campen. He says she\'s \"snooty,\" she says he\'s \"rude.\" They\'re both right. She is officious, a legalist who sticks blindly to the rules whether or not they make sense. He gives her a sarcastic comment about the absence of a doctor in the hospital.
One bone of contention between them is Henry\'s request for wine with meals. She refuses. He pays the porter to sneak some bottles in for him, a situation that can lead only to trouble. It does; read on.
As the chapter closes Henry tells you that he \"woke sweating and scared and then went back to sleep trying to stay outside of my dream.\" Here is an indication that although he may recover physically from his wounding, he may never erase its memory from his mind. Note, though, that whenever he has an audience, he comports himself as a fine young man--brave, selfless, and modest. His anxieties surface when he\'s alone at night.
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