Occasionally when he drove over to that town he took one or other of his children with him to visit a relative, and to-day he proposed that Jane should be of the party.

They started after an early dinner.

Michael and Sidney stood together in the road, watching the vehicle as it rolled away; then they walked in silence to a familiar spot where they could sit in shadow.
Sidney was glad of Jane's departure for the afternoon.

He found it impossible to escape the restlessness into which he had fallen, and was resolved to seek relief by opening his mind to the old man.

There could be little doubt that Michael already understood his thoughts, and no better opportunity for such a conversation was likely to present itself.