Ah! ah! they find I was in the right." Willy was too much excited with his own reading of this latest incident to sit in one seat for two minutes together.

He walked up and down the room, laughing sometimes, and sometimes pausing to pat his mother's head.
It was fortunate for Rotha that she had to busy herself with the preparations for Willy's supper, and that this duty rendered less urgent the necessity for immediate response to his remarks.

Willy, on his part, was in no mood at present to indulge in niceties of observation, and Rotha's perturbation passed for some time unnoticed.
"Ralph will be back with us soon, let us hope," he said.

"There's no doubt but we do miss him, do we not ?" "Yes," Rotha answered, leaning as much as possible over the fire that she was mending.
The tone of the reply made an impression on Willy.

In a moment more he appeared to realize that there, had throughout been something unusual in the girl's demeanor.
"Not well, Rotha ?" he asked in a subdued tone.