Chapter 17 Summary

To James' amazement, he immediately secured a job as an orderly at the hospital. This was something that was new to him, and when he had always heard his friends talk about the process, it had always been slow and agonizing. Even more amazing, he found that he liked it. He worked in the head injury ward from eight to six every day, with one day off each week.

His tasks were simple. He mopped the corridors and two flights of stairs; washed the dishes from the patients' meals; and helped occasionally with preparing their food. He got along well with the young nurses but the nuns, who were older than he, were still a bit skeptical of him.

At lunchtime, he would get Mr. Mars and the two of them would spend a little time under a tree where he would think...