"Just a lift," he said, awkwardly, when the boy hesitated. "I've been
there myself, lately."
But when at last he had prevailed and turned away he was conscious that
the doughboy was staring after him, puzzled and unconvinced.
He had a bad night after that. The encounter had brought back his
hard-working, care-free days in the army. It had brought back, too,
the things he had put behind him, his profession and his joy in it, the
struggles and the aspirations that constitute a man's life. With them
there came, too, a more real Elizabeth, and a wave of tenderness for
her, and of regret. He turned on his sagging bed, and deliberately put
her away from him. Even if this other ghost were laid, he had no right
to her.
Then, one day, he met Mrs. Sayre, and saw that she knew him.