"That's right." Nora got slowly to her feet. "Sid and Frank will be here in a minute or two, I am sure."
"And you're perfectly right, both of you," Mrs. Sharp repeated. "I couldn't go back and live in England again. If we lose our crop, well, we must hang on some way till next year. We shan't starve, exactly. A person's got to take the rough with the smooth; and take it by and large, it's a good country."
"Ah, now you're talking more like yourself, the self that used to cheer me up when——"
Turning, she saw her husband standing in the doorway.
"Frank!"
He was looking at her with quite a new expression. How long had he been there? Had he heard all she had been saying to Mrs. Sharp, carried away by the emotion aroused by the secret conflict within her own heart? She both hoped and feared that he had.
"Where's Sid?" said Mrs. Sharp, starting to her feet.
"Why, he's up at your place. Hulloa, Ed. Saw you coming along in the rig earlier in the morning. But I was surprised to find Reg here. Didn't recognize him so far away in his store clothes."
"Must have been a pleasant surprise for you," said Hornby with conviction.
"What's happened? Tell me what's happened."