His mother went on with the meal in moody silence.
“I s’pose you hed a nice time out East?” she asked at last.
“Yes, a nice time. There were a lot of nice fellows there.”
“An’ could y’ keep up with them?”
“Yes; I managed to keep up. It was a little hard at first, but it grew easier after a while.”
There was a proud light in her eyes as she looked at him.
“Y’ mus’ go back,” she said, “soon ’s y’ kin. Y’ mustn’t fall behind. We’ll git along here some way.”
“We’ll see,” he answered simply. “I can’t go back till father’s out of danger. There’s no hurry. A whole year wouldn’t matter much.”
There was a tone in his voice which brought his mother’s eyes to his face, and a look in his face that held them there.
“You’re changed,” she faltered. “Y’ seem older.”