When they returned he had had an hour's talk with him alone, and at Cochrane's request had told him the whole history of his slavery. And, somehow, that recital had been in no way difficult. Once again, as on the occasion of Maud's poaching, Cochrane had made it easy not to be ashamed. Thurso felt as if he was telling it all to a man who understood him better than he understood himself, who did not in the least condone or seek to find excuses for this wretched story, but to whom these hideous happenings appeared only in the light of a nightmare, as if Thurso had had a terrible dream, and was speaking only of empty imaginings. At the end--the tale was a long one--Cochrane had still been genial. "Well, now, that is a good start," he said, "for I guess you haven't kept anything back. Sometimes people have a sort of false shame, and won't tell one what is, perhaps, the very worst of all. That must hinder the healer. It must help him, on the other hand, to know just exactly what the trouble is." "Quite so; that is only reasonable," said Thurso. But to himself he thought how odd it was that so straightforward and simple a fellow should be such a crank. Not that he was not perfectly willing to let the crank do what he could for him. He would have worn any amulet or charm if anyone seriously thought it could help him. But, again, he was conscious of his latent hostility, and this time he fancied he perceived the cause of it. For Cochrane was here to rob him of the most ecstatic moments of his life. It was the memory of them which made him feel that he was in the presence of a thief, an enemy. "Well, now, before I go back to town for the night," continued Cochrane, "I want to start you right away with one or two thoughts to keep in your mind. Remember, first of all, that all that you have been suffering from is unreal. It has no true existence, in the sense in which life and joy are true. Try to realise that, for thus you yourself will help in the accomplishment of your healing. A patient can help his medical man by determining to get well, can't he? In the same way you can help me by trying to realise that you have never been ill. Real illness is a contradiction in terms." "Do you mean that not only are the effects of the drug unreal, but the cravings for it are unreal?" asked Thurso. "Surely one can only judge of the truth of a thing by one's feelings. One's feelings are the ultimate appeal, and I assure you I know of nothing so real as my craving. If it had been less real I should not have come to America."