"I am not conscious of any pain," he said.

Well

"Then you'll stay to dinner, dear, won't you?"

Well

Mr. Stone's brow contracted as though he were trying to recall his past.

Well

"I have had no tea," he said. Then, with a sudden, anxious look at his daughter: "The little girl has not come to me. I miss her. Where is she?"

Well

The ache within Cecilia became more poignant.

Well

"It is now two days," said Mr. Stone, "and she has left her room in that house--in that street."

Well

Cecilia, at her wits' end, answered: "Do you really miss her, Father?"

Well

"Yes," said Mr. Stone. "She is like--" His eyes wandered round the room as though seeking something which would help him to express himself. They fixed themselves on the far wall. Cecilia, following their gaze, saw a little solitary patch of sunlight dancing and trembling there. It had escaped the screen of trees and houses, and, creeping through some chink, had quivered in. "She is like that," said Mr. Stone, pointing with his finger. "It is gone!" His finger dropped; he uttered a deep sigh.

Well