The opening thesis—people who survive a reckless thing sometimes come away with gratitude; other people come away with permission.

They begin to think survival has chosen them. They believe a machine which floated

yesterday will float tomorrow, that animals forgive comedy, that a joke becomes

harmless if the powerful man laughs first. Rafe's crowd had seen him survive

the same shape of trouble for twenty-five years. Blake's first hood ride became

precedent. Benton permitted himself to live as if danger were obedient.