“Oh, yes, you have!”
“I disowned him. He is absolutely nothing to me.”
“I do not believe that,” came back through the cabin door.
“Nevertheless, it is the truth. The queer part is, I’ve tried to resurrect the father instinct, and can’t. I’ve tried to go round the wall—over it. I might just as well try to climb the Upper Himalayas.”
In Cabin Two the son stared at the white ceiling. It seemed to him that all his vitals had been wrenched out of him, leaving him hollow, empty. He knew his father’s voice; it rang with truth. 99
“I offer you ten thousand.”
“The key is still on the outside.”
“I’m afraid to trust you.”
“We understand each other perfectly,” said Jane, ironically.
The son smiled. The sense of emptiness vanished, and there came into his blood a warmth as sweet as it was strong. Jane Norman, angel of mercy. He heard his father speaking again: