Gramp, disdaining a spoon, swigged directly from the bottle. He hawked loudly. “What about you, Ella? What do you think about having a bunch of niggers sitting in the same room with you?”

“Let me tell you something,” Tom said sharply. “Let’s see if you can get it straight for once. On January fourth, nineteen-fifty-six, Judge Silver ordered us to integrate the high school. He acted on orders from the Supreme Court of the United States. So now it’s law; you understand? It’s law. And whether you like it or not doesn’t make a bit of difference.”

“I ain’t so sure of that,” Gramp said, “and neither is that fella that called up. He talks sense.”

Tom rose from the table. He sighed. “Well, if he’s got any ideas, I’ll be glad to listen to them.”

“Will you?” Ruth asked.

“Of course!”

“I mean, Tom, actually—the idea of them going to school with Ella . . . well, it isn’t a very nice thing to think about. If there’s anything we can do, then I think we ought to try, don’t you?”

“Certainly.”

“Well, you don’t need to sound like such a bear.”

“I do not—oh, never mind.”

Tom got up and walked into the living room. Viciously, he snapped off the TV set and found the novel he had been trying to read for months.

He made a great effort to concentrate, but could not avoid hearing Gramp’s voice from the kitchen.

“What’s he got his back up about?”

“Nothing,” Ruth said. “Tom’s just been working hard. He’s tired.”

“Is that what’s the matter with him lately?”

“Yes, Dad. Yes. That’s what’s the matter with him lately. I’m sure of it.”

4

4

It was exactly the same: No beginning, no explanation; just himself, materializing suddenly with the picture. He was in the lowest cabin of an ocean cruiser. The room was small and unfamiliar. Through the portholes, he could see the bright green water, rising in waves, thrashing endlessly beyond the horizon. He stood there, watching the water for several minutes; then he turned.

A girl lay on the bed, her body covered by a thin sheet. She was perhaps the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, but she was a stranger. He studied her rich black hair, which glistened against the spotless linen, and he studied her face, and he knew that he was in love with her. The moment he realized this, the girl’s eyes opened and her arms lifted and she beckoned, calling his name silently.

He walked to the bed, sat on the soft edge, and carefully pulled down the sheet.

The girl began to tremble. He asked her not to do this, and he reached out his hand. His fingers touched her lips. She stopped trembling.