"Sit down, sit down," he said; and then in an earnest manner and with the gravest face began, "I've something to tell you, Andrew, that I think you ought to know."
Andrew's visage relaxed. This gravity promised better than anything his father's behavior had led him to expect of late.
"Something most extraordinary has happened. You've noticed a little kind of difference in me of late, possibly?"
"I have," said Andrew, with an intonation that made his acquiescence particularly thorough.
"A sort of cheerfulness and healthiness, and so on?"
"And so on," assented Andrew.
"Well, I've accounted for it at last!"
"Oh?" said Andrew.
This did not strike him as quite so interesting. He thought of the papers he had left, and glanced at his watch.