"Did you have a job to get me out?" she asked.
"Oh, fair!" he answered.
So time passed away and the ten days were soon gone. Jack visited all his old haunts and friends and saw a good deal of Bessie. Their relations were changing, they were merging into man and woman, the incident of the brook seemed to have hastened it. Jack saw a difference in her; she seemed a trifle shy at times, and he never failed to notice it. He noticed, too, that she seemed to defer to him more, and not dispute, as they always used to. When he was going away, he said good-bye to her alone, and as he shook hands he noticed a look in her eyes that surprised him. She blushed slightly.
"I'm sorry I'm going back," he said.
"So am I," she answered. She seemed distinctly sad.
One evening, before his uncle had left, they had all spent the evening with the doctor. As the men sat alone smoking, his uncle had questioned Jack about his work. Jack remembered that the doctor had listened with marked interest.
"They call me an Improver," Jack had explained. "Certainly, I've improved lots of things since I've been there, and wrecked others. 'Improver wanted for Central Station in Scotland, must have workshop training and theoretical knowledge, good opportunity to gain a thorough insight into Central Station work. Salary (they called it salary) ten shillings per week.' That's how the advertisement ran. They are correct in describing the insight to be gained as 'thorough.' My first job was to sweep out the engine room and to do it thoroughly, then I had to clean the switchboard, thoroughly too, then, as I had shown my ability, I was allowed to wipe down the engine, thoroughly. Now I stoke boilers and drive engines and operate the switchboard—all for the same pay, while the latest comer sweeps the floor, etc."
The doctor, Jack had noticed, looked considerably down in the mouth. The sailor only laughed. "That'll do you good," he had said.
All these things Jack thought over after he had left Bessie, and the train was speeding him northward.