The light had left her worn face.

Lane did not feel sure of his ground here.

So he controlled his feelings and directed his interest toward more news.
"Of course Dick Swann was in the service ?" he asked.
"No.

He didn't go," replied Lorna.
The information struck Lane singularly.

Dick Swann had always been a prominent figure in the Middleville battery, in those seemingly long past years since before the war.
"Why didn't Dick go into the service?
Why didn't the draft get him ?" "He had poor eyesight, and his father needed him at the iron works." "Poor eyesight!" ejaculated Lane.