. She told herself that Mrs. Volsky was
willing to try; very willing to try! But of what avail would be Bennie's
growing faith and idealism if he had to come, night after night, to the
home that was responsible for men like Jim--and like Pa?

Pa! Rose-Marie realized with a new sense of shock that Pa was no longer a
force to reckon with. Pa was dead--had been crushed by a truck. Never
again would he slouch drunkenly into the flat, never again would he throw
soiled clothing and broken bottles and heavy shoes into newly tidied
corners. He was dead and he had--after all--been the one link that tied
the Volskys to their dingy quarters! With Pa gone the family could seek
cleaner, sweeter rooms--rooms that would have been barred to the family
of a drunkard! With Pa gone the air would clear, magically, of some of
its heaviness.

Rose-Marie, telling herself how much the death of Pa was going to benefit
the Volsky family, felt all at once heartless. She had been brought up in
an atmosphere where death carries sorrow with it--deep sorrow and
sanctity. She remembered the dim parlours of the little town when there
was a funeral--she remembered the singing of the village choir and the
voice of the pastor, slightly unsteady, perhaps, but very confident of
the life hereafter. She remembered the flowers, and the mourners in their
black gowns, and the pure tears of grief. She had always seen folk meet
death so--meet it rather beautifully.

But the passing of Pa! She shuddered to think of its cold cruelty--it was
rather like his life. He had been snuffed out--that was all--snuffed out!
There would be for him no dim parlour, no singing choir, no pastor with
an unsteady voice. The black-robed mourners would be absent, and so would
the flowers. His going would cause not a ripple in the life of the
community--it would bring with it better opportunities for his family,
rather than a burden of sorrow!

"I can't grieve for him!" Rose-Marie told herself desperately. "I can't
grieve for him! It's the only chance he ever gave to his
children--_dying_! Perhaps, without him, they'll be able to make
good...."

She was crossing the park--splashed with sunshine, it was. And suddenly
she remembered the first time that she had met Bennie in the park. It
seemed centuries away, that first meeting! She remembered how she had
been afraid, then, of the crowds. Now she walked through them with a
certain assurance--_she belonged_. She had come a long distan