"A boy."
"Thank God! Now, Alice, you have been a truthful subject,—I know you love me and wish me well; help me pass this crisis in my life creditably and right, for I begin to suspect my own powers of penetration and wisdom."
"That means you are growing in knowledge. Only ignorant persons place implicit confidence in their opinions. You are a grand man, but all finite beings are fallible. This woman is an equally grand and noble woman, but her thoughts are obscured by doubt at this time. She wants to do just what is right, she is afraid to trust her own desires."
"Desires for what? Be very careful in answering, as the happiness of several lives may depend upon your answer."
"She loves you, and wants to come to you, but the boy does not. She is afraid her desire to be with you is a selfish one. She would do for him what she would not do for herself; unless you use force, he will defeat you—"
"How can he? She has promised to come to me."
"She wants to, but she feels in some way indebted to him, anyway, I know she is struggling between the two influences, and if you do not go to her quick,—right off—she will go away with him, a long way,—where he wants to go, and you will be unable to reach her for a long time. Hurry, for she does not want to go; she is crying, but he will make her go if you do not go right off. She is afraid of him."
"But, Alice,—she promised to come here."
"And he insists on going there."
"You are sure, Alice, it is a boy who comes between us?"