Death, as a fact, was known to Peewee; there had been no one to conspire to keep the knowledge of it from him. He recognized that his mother was dead, but it did not give him any particular feeling of unhappiness. It caused only a dryness in his throat and a sense of physical uneasiness. He backed slowly away, not ceasing to look at her. He felt behind him for the door, found it, and backed out through the opening. Then he reclosed the door. He listened again for the nurse. Not hearing her, he went out quickly into the musty hall, passed through it and down the stairs, opened the entrance door and ran out into the street.
