Book Two Josh Roden Conway Chapter 14

And John, for an hour before he started, had been going about in gloom, talking of death. His death.

They were looking over the last letter from his father which he had asked her to answer for him. It seemed that John had told him the chances were he would be killed and had asked him whether in this case he would allow the Roden ambulances to be handed over to McClane. And the old man had given his consent.

"Isn't it a pity to frighten him?" she said.

"He's no business to be frightened. It's my death. If I can face it, he can. I'm simply making necessary arrangements."

She could see that. At the same time it struck her that he wanted you to see that he exposed himself to all the risks of death, to see how he faced it. She had no patience with that talk about death; that pitiful bolstering up of his romance.

"If McClane says much more you can tell him."

He was counting on this transfer of the ambulances to get credit with McClane; to silence him.

There were other letters which he had told her to answer. As soon as he had started she went into his room to look for them. If they were not on the chimneypiece they would be in the drawer with his razors and pockethandkerchiefs.

It was John's room, after she had gone through it, that showed her what he was doing.