PETER. [_Turns and faces the door leading into the next room, as though he
could feel the presence of some one waiting there._] Yes ... I am still
in the house. Come in ... come in ... [_He repeats the signal of the first
act._] Ou--oo. [_The door opens slowly--and_ CATHERINE _enters as though
at_ PETER'S _call. She looks about her, not understanding. He holds out
his arms to her._ CATHERINE _walks slowly towards him. He takes her in his
arms, but she does not respond. She does not know that she is being
held._] There! There!... Don't worry.... It's all right.... We'll arrange
things very differently. I've come back to change all my plans. [_She
moves away a step--just out of his embrace. He tries to call her back._]
Katie! ... Can't I make my presence known to _you_? Katie! Can't my love
for you outlive _me_? Isn't it here in the home?... Don't cry. [_She moves
about the room in thought. As_ PETER _watches her--she pauses near his
desk._

CATHERINE. [_Suddenly._] Crying doesn't help matters.

PETER. She hears me. She doesn't know it, but she hears me. She's cheering
up. [_She inhales the flowers--a half smile on her lips._] That's right,
you haven't smiled before since I died. [_Suddenly giving way to the
realization of her loss_, CATHERINE _sighs._

PETER. [_Correcting himself._] I--I mean--since I learned that there was a
happier place than the world I left.... I'm a trifle confused. I've not
had time to adjust myself to these new conditions. [CATHERINE _smiles
sadly--goes up to the window, and, leaning against the pane, looks out
into the night._ PETER _continues comfortingly._] The dead have never
really died, you know. We couldn't die if we tried. We're all about
you.... Look at the gardens: they've died, haven't they? But there they
are all the better for it. Death is the greatest thing in the world. It's