of course you didnt , she replied , determined to sound cheerful . with the all-gray colors of the room , for a second , i thought i 'd stumbled upon a past memory . i step up on the porch and knock , my heart hammering in my chest as i wait . there was something wrong with his neck . not that ruth had worked an eighty-hour week in his life , but the principle still applied . he set his jaw and walked through the room to his bunk . 