Page:The Return of the Soldier (Van Druten).djvu/116

 : How does he look?

He went out there into the garden with me like a boy  without a care in the world. You know, it was like that. He felt just like a boy when he was with me. All this he didn’t believe in it  really  he couldn’t. He was happy  like that, and I had to break his heart for him. We went down to the pond he loved the water so  and I showed him the toys  and talked to him  about his boy and my boy. Oh, it was awful seeing it all come back into his eyes. He was so frightened he held on to me and kept saying, “What does it mean? What does it mean?” But he knew. He looked back at the house and it was  different. It meant something else to him now.

(low) : A prison.

I saw him touch the jersey and remember. It was like he was touching the boy’s body.



He just looked. And his mouth went sort of funny. Oh, Chris! (She moans a little.) Then he spoke of her his wife. He said, “How I must have hurt her.”

(muttering) : Her pride