“Will you be alone?”
“I expect to be.”
Once more he said: “Palla, is anything worrying you? Are you ill? Is Ilse all right?”
There was a pause, then Palla’s voice, resolutely tranquil. “Everything is all right in the world as long as you are kind to me, Jim. When you’re not, things darken and become queer–––”
“Palla!”
“Yes.”
“Listen! This is to serve notice on you. I’m going to make a fight for you.”
After a silence, he heard her sweet, uncertain laughter.
“Jim?”
“Yes, dear.”