Атлант расправил плечи

           Thefirsttime,inanswertohisstartled"Whatareyoudoinghere?"—Philiphadsaidvaguely,"Well,Iknowthatyoudon’tlikemetocometoyouroffice.""Whatdoyouwant?""Oh,nothing...but...well,Motherisworriedaboutyou.""Mothercancallmeanytimeshewishes."Philiphadnotanswered,buthadproceededtoquestionhim,inanunconvincinglycasualmanner,abouthiswork,hishealth,hisbusiness;thequestionshadkepthittingoddlybesidethepoint,notquestionsaboutbusiness,butmoreabouthis,Rearden’s,feelingstowardbusiness.Reardenhadcuthimshortandwavedhimaway,buthadbeenleftwiththesmall,naggingsenseofanincidentthatremainedinexplicable.

           Thesecondtime,Philiphadsaid,assoleexplanation,"Wejustwanttoknowhowyoufeel.""Who’swe?""Why...MotherandI.Thesearedifficulttimesand...well,Motherwantstoknowhowyoufeelaboutitall.""TellherthatIdon’t."ThewordshadseemedtohitPhilipinsomepeculiarmanner,almostasifthisweretheoneanswerhedreaded."Getoutofhere,"Reardenhadorderedwearily,"andthenexttimeyouwanttoseeme,makeanappointmentandcometomyoffice.Butdon’tcomeunlessyouhavesomethingtosay.Thisisnotaplacewhereonediscussesfeelings,mineoranybodyelse’s.