Madame Carvala spoke to him in a low voice, too low for either Felix or Phyllis to catch. He glowered and tried to look away, but she insisted, caught his eye, and held it. She spoke again, and he answered, in the same low tones. They talked together for some minutes, quite earnestly. Finally she straightened up in her chair and said in a louder tone, “Thank you, Theobald. You may go now.”
He fled out of the house. Felix looked longingly after him, but decided he had to stay. He selected a chair as far across the room as manners permitted, and waited.
Carvala selected another cigar, puffed until she was the center of a cloud of blue smoke, and turned her attention exclusively to Phyllis. “He’s a sound child,” she announced. “Sound. He’ll do well.”
“I’m happy that you think so.”
“I don’t think so, I know so.” They talked for a while longer about the boy, small talk. Felix had a feeling that the old woman was improvising until she was ready with whatever was on her mind.
“When do you expect to have his sister?”
“I am ready any time,” replied Phyllis. “I have been for months. They are selecting for her now.”
“What are they selecting for? Anything different from the boy?”
“Not in any major respect-except one. Of course there will be plenty of variation from what Theobald is, because in so many, many of the alternatives no attempt will be made to make a choice.”
“What is the one major respect you spoke of?”
Phyllis told her of it. Since the coming child was to be a girl, its chromosome pattern would contain two X-chromosomes, one from each of its parents. Now philoprogenitiveness is, of course, a sex-linked characteristic. Hamilton, be it remembered, lacked it to a moderate degree. Theobald derived his one X-chromosome from his mother; Mordan confidently expected that he would be normal in his desire to have children of his own when he became old enough for such things to matter to him.
But his projected little sister would inherit from both her parents in this respect. She might be rather cool to the matter of having children. However, if she did have, then her offspring need not be handicapped by any lack in this highly desirable survival trait; since she would pass on to her heirs but one of her two X-chromosomes, by selection, she could transmit only that of her mother. Hamilton’s undesirable trait would be eliminated forever.
Carvala listened carefully to this explanation-or rather to that small portion of it Phyllis had found it necessary to relate-and nodded cheerfully. “Put your mind at rest, child. It won’t matter a bit.” She offered no elaboration of her words.
She talked of other matters for a while, then said suddenly, “Any time now, I take it?”
“Yes,” Phyllis agreed.
Carvala stood up and took her departure as suddenly as she came. “I hope we will have the honor of your presence again, Madame,” Felix said carefully.
She stopped, turned, and looked at him. She took her cigar from her mouth and grinned. “Oh, I’ll be back! You can count on that.”
Felix stood scowling at the door through which she had left. Phyllis sighed happily. “She makes me feel good, Felix.”
“She doesn’t me. She looks like a corpse.”
“Now, Filthy!”
Felix went outside and looked up his son. “Hi, sport.”
“H’lo.”
“What did she have to say to you?”
Theobald muttered something in which Felix caught only the term “cuss boss!”
“Take it easy, son. What did she want?”
“She wanted me to promise her something.”
“And did you?”
“No.”
“What was it?”
But Theobald wasn’t listening again.
After a late and pleasant supper in the cool of the garden Felix turned on the news, rather idly. He listened lackadaisically for a while, then suddenly called out, “Phyllis!”
“What is it?”
“Come here! Right away!”
She ran in; he indicated the spieling, flickering box:
” — dame Espartero Carvala. She appears to have died instantly. It is assumed that she stumbled near the top of the escalator, for she seemed to have fallen, or rolled, the entire flight. She will long be remembered, not only for her lengthy tenure on the Board, but for her pioneer work in — ” Phyllis had switched it off. Felix saw that she had tears in her eyes, and refrained from the remark he had intended to make about her cockiness in saying that she would be sure to be back.