There ensued a long pause, which became painful.
Winefred said: 'But she thinks of him—a lot.'
'She thinks of him!'
'Yes, sir, I can see it, when she sits on the cliff and looks away to sea. She has her mind on him then; I know by the way she loses herself; and if I speak to her she does not hear me. She seems to me to be seeking that place beyond the ocean—they call it Tierra del Fuego, where he is. And at night, by the fire, she puts her cheek in her hand and looks into the coals. I have to shake her to bring her round.'
'And you believe she is thinking of him!'
'I know she is, though she never mentions him.'
Again a pause.
The girl's searching eyes were on him. He could not bear their penetrating light, and he dropped his on the shingle, which he stirred with the ferule of his umbrella.
Presently Mr. Holwood said, 'Do you consider, candidly, that your mother is happy? Is she of a cheerful disposition?'
'Not over-cheerful, I reckon.' He winced. 'It is only when I am at my Tomfool tricks that I can get her to smile. I never heard her laugh outright. How can she? Just you think, sir, how it would be with you if your wife had run away and gone to Tierra del Fuego, and you did not know what games she was up to there.'