She began to question him of his days away, and soon he was talking freely enough, between pulls of his pipe.
"You know, Nance, I was a prodigal--only when I awoke I had no father to go to.

Poor grandad! What a brutal cub I was! That has always stuck in my mind.

I was telling you about that cold wet night in Denver.

I had found a lodging in the police station.

There were others as forlorn--and Nance--did you ever realise the buoyancy of the human mind?
It's sublime.