Gene's fall into the river also gains in moral significance when Mr. Ludsbury confronts him on the way to the dormitory. Gene's excuse — tellingly, "I slipped" — becomes the basis for Mr. Ludsbury's long and caustic sermon on the boys' disobedience during the Summer Session. Gene has "slipped" from Devon traditions and standards, according to the master, but he has also slipped morally from friendship through his own jealous spite. Dirty with salt and slime here, Gene appears as a fallen, filthy friend, unworthy of Finny's trust and regard.
This image of Gene contrasts sharply with the warmth and trust evident in Finny's unexpected phone call. The boys' friendship seems renewed on both sides — passively, on Gene's part, because he has not got a new roommate; and actively, on Finny's part, through his assertion of faith in Gene after their argument in Boston. But the moment of unity quickly yields to a study in contrasts and the reassertion of Finny's influence over Gene when the conversation turns to sports. As Finny tells Gene: "Listen, pal, if I can't play sports, you're going to play them for me."
This command represents both a challenge and a relief to Gene. Upon hearing Finny's wish, Gene becomes virtually one with the friend he has both idealized and destroyed. And it is in this moment that a sense of freedom suddenly sweeps over Gene, when he thinks about what his secret purpose must have been in jouncing the limb — "to become a part of Phineas."
