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 Eddie came into the living-room and put his arm around her.

"Yes, I'm ready."

They walked down the stairs very slowly. Eddie's arm remained about her shoulders. He helped her into Dr. Stewart's car and took the seat beside her.

The ride began. It was not a silent ride. The mad impulse that had prompted Dot to sing now made her talkative, and Dr. Stewart was ready to keep conversation alive.

"Mrs. Driggs told me about the time you took her to the hospital, Doctor. She said she thought she was going to have a broken skull by the time she got there."

Dr. Stewart laughed. "There was certainly cause for rush that time," he remarked.

Dot had many comments to make on the car, the weather, the sanitarium, her pains, though the pains were still slight.

"How soon do you think the baby will be born?" she asked.

"Tonight when I went home for dinner," replied Dr. Stewart, "I met a friend of mine—a doctor who lives next door to me—who had been sitting with a woman nine hours waiting for the baby. That's the best answer I can give you."

"Oh," said Dot.

As the car passed into the Black Belt she remarked about the colored women who stood outside a store where a bargain sale was in progress.

Eddie looked at her curiously. Was this wonderful courage, or was she so uninterested in the baby that even his arrival didn't excite her? He failed to notice the sly glances she gave him, searching his face for a sign that her detachment was making him brave.