"The poor dear has eaten more than she has any time since she's been sick," she told them with pride, after one of her visits to the house. "An' there's a little tinge of colour, too, in her white cheeks, an' she really smiled an' thanked me when I took her in her dinner."
"That is encouraging, isn't it?" Douglas asked. Joe said nothing though his eyes never left the widow's face, and he listened almost breathlessly to her slightest word about Jean.
"It is a good sign," Mrs. Dempster replied, as she sat upon the ground and poured for herself a cup of tea. "An' it's another good sign that she wants to see you, sir."
"See me!" Douglas exclaimed in surprise. "Why is that a good sign?"
"'Cause she hasn't wanted to see any one since she's been sick."
"What does she want to see me for?"
"To thank ye for playin', most likely. She made me tell her who it was, as she was most curious to know. She's takin' an interest in things now, an' that's encouragin'."
When Mrs. Dempster had finished her dinner, she rose to her feet and informed Douglas that she was ready to take him to see Jean.
"You jist make yerself comfortable, Joe, an' I'll be back in a jiffy.
Lean aginst that tree an' rest ye'r poor old back. It's always good to
have something to lean aginst. Since John died Empty's the only thing
I've got to lean aginst, though I must say he's mighty wobbly at times."
Douglas followed Mrs. Dempster into the little bedroom off the kitchen where the invalid girl was lying. He was somewhat startled by the marked contrast between Jean's white face and her jet-black hair which was flowing over the pillow in rich confusion. She smiled as she reached out her thin hand and welcomed the visitor.