Renault, standing beside the bed, his arms folded across his breast, looked up from the dead child straight into the woman's eyes.
"That is false!" he cried with sudden passion. "Life is GOOD—all of it—for every one."
He held her eyes with his glance while his words reverberated through her being like the CREDO of a new faith.
* * * * *
When another nurse had come to relieve Isabelle, she left the ward with the doctor. As they went through the passageway that led to the house, Renault said in his usual abrupt tone:—
"You had better run home, Mrs. Lane, and get some sleep. To-morrow will be another hard day."
She wheeled suddenly and faced him.
"How dare you say that life is good for any other human being! What do you know of another's agony,—the misery that existence may mean, the daily woe?"
Her passionate burst of protest died in a sob.
"I say it because I believe it, because I know it!"