he was
going into battle, weighed upon him. Then came the shell that
shattered his body. But the probabilities are that he was struck down,
unconscious, at the very moment when the conflict in his mind was most
acute. He was thinking of you, of the difference you and he had had,
he was lonely, he was afraid for the bravest men feel fear. To him the
bursting of the shell was the bursting of the conflict within him. I
won't go into the professional side of the matter, the influence of
the mental state on the physical--but after the wound healed, whenever
anything occurred to remind him of the conflict,--a letter from you,
the sight of the strikers this afternoon at the shops, meeting you once
more, a repetition came of what happened when the shell struck him.
Certain glands fail in their functions, the heart threatens to stop and
put an end to life. If my theory is correct, what I have given him may
tide over that danger, but only on one condition can he continue to live
and become a useful member of society.

ASHER. What condition?

DR. JONATHAN. That the mental conflict, the real cause of the trouble,
he resolved. The time has come, Asher, when you must make your choice
between your convictions and your son.

ASHER. Speak out.

DR. JONATHAN. I mean that you must be prepared to tell George, if he
recovers, that you have abandoned your attitude toward the workmen, that
you are willing to recognize their union, settle the strike, and go even
further than in their ignorance they ask. You must try the experiment
in the democratization of industry on which George's heart is set.
Otherwise I will not answer for his sanity, I cannot even give you the
hope that he will live.

ASHER. I never heard of a mental conflict producing such a state!

DR. JONATHAN. Remember, you have said that you will make any sacrifice
to save George's life.

ASHER (turning on DR. JONATHAN). You're not trying to play on my--my
superstition,--at a time like this!

DR. JONATHAN. I'm not dealing with superstition, Asher, but with
science. If George revives, he will wish to talk with you.

ASHER. When?

DR. JONATHAN. Probably this evening--or never. I ask you the
question--will you yield your convictions?

(ASHER bows his head. DR. JONATHAN gazes at him for a moment,
compassionately.)

I'll go back to him now. I think he'd better be moved to his room, and
put to bed.

(Exit DR. JONATHAN, left. For a minute ASHER remains alone, an