"I thought I'd come and see you alone. Jamie's still out, isn't he? I saw him pass our house. I was standing at the window, but he didn't look up."
"I daresay he was thinking. He's grown very thoughtful now."
Mrs. Parsons came in, and her quiet face lit up, too, as she greeted Mary. She kissed her tenderly.
"Jamie's out, you know."
"Mary has come to see us," said the Colonel. "She doesn't want us to feel neglected now that she has the boy."
"We shall never dream that you can do anything unkind, dear Mary," replied Mrs. Parsons, stroking the girl's hair. "It's natural that you should think more of him than of us."
Mary hesitated a moment.
"Don't you think Jamie has changed?"
Mrs. Parsons looked at her quickly.
"I think he has grown more silent. But he's been through so much. And then he's a man now; he was only a boy when we saw him last."