Campbell Farm and the Migrant Murders By Margaret McCulloch

[Disguisedagent]

The heroine escapes from a prison by disguising herself as a nurse.

Later that evening, after the other inmates had their baths, Anita grabbed her robe and went to take a bath in privacy. As she soaked in the warm water, she heard leather soles patting through the adjoining bath. She quickly turned off the water, but the sound of steps came nearer, and a human form appeared on the other side of the curtain. Suddenly, the curtain flew back, and Anita bent to hide her nakedness. The nurse glared at her and wadded a towel before her. Anita grabbed the towel and wrapped it snugly around her as she stood. “I prefer privacy when I take a bath,” Anita said. “Privacy?” the nurse said, and she shook with laughter. “Privacy is a foreign word in this place.” Her laughter quieted and her face turned sour. “Get out of that tub!” “Would you please turn around?” Anita said. The nurse hid her face under her arms and giggled as she counted, “One, two, and three! Are you ready?”

Anita stepped out of the tub, grabbed the nurse around the neck, and they both fell on the floor. The nurse came up with her arms swinging, and Anita went toward her with both hands. The nurse threw a punch that Anita dodged, sending the nurse backward with tangled feet. She got overbalanced and fell on the tub with a bang to the back of her head. Anita checked her pulse. The nurse had a strong pulse, but she didn’t move. She straddled the nurse, grabbed her arms in a cross tie, and tied her hands with the belt from her robe. After gagging her mouth with her panties, she stepped into the tub, undressed the nurse and put on her uniform and shoes. Then she got a hold on the naked nurse under each of her arms and pulled her into the bath tub. Before closing the curtain to the tub, she checked the nurse’s pulse again to make sure she still breathed. She did not want a murder conviction hanging over her head. She took one last look at the nurse and closed the curtain to hide the naked body. She pulled the keys of freedom from the uniform and ran to Lula’s room.

When Lula looked up and saw Anita in the white uniform, her mouth fell open. Anita dangled the keys and Lula jumped up from her bed. “How did you get that uniform and those keys?” “I robbed the nurse and tied her up; she is in the bath tub,” Anita said. “I am going to escape! I have to hurry! I want you to check on the nurse after I get away. We have to think of a way for me to get out of here.”