THREE:"Once again," she said slowly, "I ask youis it worth while?"Rose's child was born towards the end of October. Once more Reuben had a son, and as he looked down on the little red hairless thing all his hopes and dreams were built anew. He had always lived too near the earth to let experience thump him into cynicism. He raised as glorious dreams over this baby as he had raised over the others, and seen crumble into ashes. Indeed, the fact that his earlier hopes had failed made him warm himself more gratefully at this rekindling. He saw himself at last raised out of the pit of difficultyhe would not lose this boy as he had lost the others, he would perhaps be softer and more indulgent, he would at all events be wiser, and the child should indeed be a son to him and to Odiam. "Unto UsReuben and Odiama child is born; unto Us a son is given."
THREE:Chapter 4
THREE:"Father," she said as Reuben came into the room.
THREE:"No," replied Edith, "and if he had, Stephen, your wife knew how to answer him as befitting a virtuous woman."
THREE:It was odd that his parents did not care. Now he came to think of it, they did not seem to care about anything very much, except Harry. It never struck him to think it was odd that he should care when they did not.