`` I thought of Shirley -- my heart stood still -- and then I heard him saying , ` It 's from Holland . ' `` The message was , ` Just arrived . Escaped from Germany . Quite well . Writing . James Blythe . ' `` I did n't faint or fall or scream . I did n't feel glad or surprised . I did n't feel anything . I felt numb , just as I did when I heard Walter had enlisted . I hung up the receiver and turned round . Mother was standing in her doorway . She wore her old rose kimono , and her hair was hanging down her back in a long thick braid , and her eyes were shining . She looked just like a young girl . '' ` There is word from Jem ? ' she said . `` How did she know ? I had n't said a word at the phone except ` Yes -- yes -- yes . ' She says she does n't know how she knew , but she did know . She was awake and she heard the ring and she knew that there was word from Jem . ''
` He 's alive -- he 's well -- he 's XXXXX Holland , ' I said .
Germany Shirley as at except from in like of that