Pale Horse, Pale Rider, Section Two, pp. 205-225 Summary

Miranda arrives back at the newspaper office to find Towney and Chuck, the sports reporter, sitting on her desk. Towney and Chuck laugh as they discuss the rumors that the Germans have sent over a cloud of deadly germs to kill everyone in New England. Towney acts as though she loves supporting the war effort, with no evidence of her desperation earlier. Chuck himself acts quite defensive about the fact that he has not been allowed to go to war because he has bad lungs. He wants everyone to know that he is a real man, and not a coward. Chuck makes very little money, and any that he has left over goes to his alcoholic father to buy booze.

As Towney and Chuck chat, Miranda desperately wishes that...