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38"Sure, I'll be there by Thanksgiving anyway."At Devon, where every stick of furniture didn't assert that Finny was a part of it, I couldmake it up to him.Now I had to get out of there. There was only one way to do it; I would have to make everymove false. "I've had an awfully long trip," I said, "I never sleep much on trains. I guess I'mnot making too much sense today.""Don't worry about it.""I think I'd better get to the station. I'm already a day late at Devon.""You aren't going to start living by the rules, are you?"I grinned at him. "Oh no, I wouldn't do that," and that was the most false thing, the biggestlie of all.
396Peace had deserted Devon. Although not in the look of the campus and village; they retainedmuch of their dreaming summer calm. Fall had barely touched the full splendor of the trees,and during the height of the day the sun briefly regained its summertime power. In the air therewas only an edge of coolness to imply the coming winter.But all had been caught up, like the first fallen leaves, by a new and energetic wind. TheSummer Session—a few dozen boys being force-fed education, a stopgap while most of themasters were away and most of the traditions stored against sultriness—the Summer Sessionwas over. It had been the school's first,' but this was its one hundred and sixty-third WinterSession, and the forces reassembled for it scattered the easygoing summer spirit like so manyfallen leaves.The masters were in their places for the first Chapel, seated in stalls in front of and at rightangles to us, suggesting by their worn expressions and careless postures that they had neverbeen away at all.In an apse of the church sat their wives and children, the objects during the tedious wintermonths of our ceaseless, ritual speculation (Why did he ever marry her? What in the worldever made her marry him? How could the two of them ever have produced those littlemonsters?). The masters favored seersucker on this mild first day the wives broke out theirhats. Five of the younger teachers were missing gone into the war. Mr Pike had come in hisNaval ensigns uniform; some reflex must have survived Midshipman's School and brought himback to Devon for the day His face was as mild and hopeless as ever; mooning above thesnappy, rigid blouse, it gave him the air of an impostor.Continuity was the keynote. The same hymns were played the same sermon given, the sameannouncements made. There was one surprise; maids had disappeared "for the Duration," anew phase then. But continuity was stressed, not beginning again but continuing the educationof young men according to the unbroken traditions of Devon.I knew, perhaps I alone knew, that this was false. Devon had slipper' through their fingersduring the warm overlooked months. The tradition's had been broken, the standards let down,all rules forgotten. In those bright days of truancy we had never thought of What We OwedDevon, as the sermon this opening day exhorted us to do. We had thought of ourselves, of whatDevon owed us, and we had taken all of that and much more Today's hymn was Dear Lord andFather of Mankind Forgive Our Foolish Ways; we had never heard that during the summereither. Ours had been a wayward gypsy music, leading us down all kinds of foolish gypsyways, unforgiven. I was glad of it, I had almost caught the rhythm of it, the dancing, clickingjangle of it during the summer.
Page 1 and 2: 1John KnowlesA Separate Peace
Page 3 and 4: 3Like all old, good schools, Devon
Page 5 and 6: 5"What I like best about this tree,
Page 7 and 8: 7naturally stronger because it was
Page 9 and 10: 92Our absence from dinner had been
Page 11 and 12: 11"Does it?" He used this preoccupi
Page 13 and 14: 13had often labeled, now achieved a
Page 15 and 16: 15had brushed on the limb shook me
Page 17 and 18: 17But the one which had the most ur
Page 19 and 20: 19"Knock him down! Are you crazy? H
Page 21 and 22: 21wonder at what he was able to do.
Page 23 and 24: 23"Swimming in pools is screwy anyw
Page 25 and 26: 254The next morning I saw dawn for
Page 27 and 28: 27"You wouldn't—" I wasn't sure I
Page 29 and 30: 29leaves. Little disregarded patche
Page 31 and 32: 31me for a second. Now I knew that
Page 33 and 34: 33called to me on the chapel steps
Page 35 and 36: 35from just feelings. And this feel
Page 37: 37that I had done it, but it was he
Page 41 and 42: 41water, roaring with rage.I stoppe
Page 43 and 44: 43trembling, goaded egotism he coul
Page 45 and 46: 45will never be swayed by all the f
Page 47 and 48: 477Brinker Hadley came across to se
Page 49 and 50: 49It was a mistake; the radio had s
Page 51 and 52: 51Not long afterward, early even fo
Page 53 and 54: 53winter. Have you ever seen it?""N
Page 55 and 56: 55poles and thrust skis, rhythmical
Page 57 and 58: 57I grabbed the knob and swung open
Page 59 and 60: 59"Is there?" he murmured absently.
Page 61 and 62: 61"I'll help," said Brinker."No," s
Page 63 and 64: 63of leaps in space. And now I reme
Page 65 and 66: 65rushing to his face and neck I st
Page 67 and 68: 67"Leave your fantasy life out of t
Page 69 and 70: 69me. He seemed older that morning,
Page 71 and 72: 71ruining the sport after all. They
Page 73 and 74: 73and evenly melodic one which for
Page 75 and 76: 75higher, a forged draft registrati
Page 77 and 78: 77figures for his own enlightenment
Page 79 and 80: 7910That night I made for the first
Page 81 and 82: 81to deepen it.He turned away, and
Page 83 and 84: 83Stick to your snails, Lepellier."
Page 85 and 86: 85Hoarse, cracking sobs broke from
Page 87 and 88: 8711I wanted to see Phineas, and Ph
Page 89 and 90:
89"Thank God.""What?""I said that's
Page 91 and 92:
91stray activities and dreamy peopl
Page 93 and 94:
93"This part is pretty interesting,
Page 95 and 96:
95Brinker and three cohorts came wi
Page 97 and 98:
97"I told Brinker this morning," I
Page 99 and 100:
99"A kid I used to play with was hi
Page 101 and 102:
101this," he demonstrated how a han
Page 103 and 104:
10312Everyone behaved with complete
Page 105 and 106:
105from the engine of Dr. Stanpole'
Page 107 and 108:
107and it wasn't. There was somethi
Page 109 and 110:
109them with a sense of detachment,
Page 111 and 112:
111I took a shower, dressed, and we
Page 113 and 114:
113"Leper'll be all right. There's
Page 115 and 116:
115Brinker sighed under his breath,
Page 117:
117compelling voice, which carried
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