it 's not that he was so tightly strung that he could n't laugh , or did n't want to . i would n't string him along ; it was n't right . she did n't look nearly as hideous under the water as she did above it . released from his power , my limbs were soft as heated butter , and i crumpled to the ground , panting for air . ted disappeared behind the edge of the roof . his father had put james to work in the coal mines when the boy was fourteen . 