"Well, Matthew!"
He looked down at her, recognizing the change in her state of mind; she felt herself to be, it was plain, fortunate and happy. He had made up his mind that when she returned she should not be received like a prodigal but now her expression made clear that she was not a prodigal in any sense.
"You've surprised me!" he said, astonished at his own delight.
"Are you glad to see me?" Ellen looked at him almost coquettishly.
"Yes," he answered with a deep breath. Then in the midst of his pleasure he was discomfited. She might stay to supper, and a welcome was doubtful. The secondary cause of all Millie's woes was Ellen.
"Can't you stop work a little while and sit down in the woods and talk to me?"
"Yes," said Matthew.
The oak trees, whose foliage was now a dark red, were but a step away and the two sat side by side on the old log. There was between them the most astonishing contrast. Matthew's youthful beauty was gone; his skin was tanned to a darker shade than his light hair; he did not sit erect and he was unshaven; but more startling was his air of weariness and dullness. He looked ten years older than Ellen and seemed to belong to a different race. She laid her hand on his knee.
"I have a long story to tell you."
"Well?" Matthew's eyes devoured her. He was bewildered and made uneasy by his delight. He wished to gather her into his arms and lean his head on her shoulder.