Explore "The Turn of the Tide" by Fred M. White on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Though it was not quite five o'clock on that sunny afternoon in early March when Ellis had met Vera in the little wood, Patricia had lighted the lamp in the sitting-room of the cottage and had given her father his tea. He sat before the fire gazing into the coals, with an expression on his face that seemed to Pat to be something new. As a rule, he remained perfectly silent for hours together, as if in a sort of sleep, but there was a queer alertness about him just then that pleased Pat, and at the same time somewhat disturbed her. And more than once since the luncheon things had been cleared away he had spoken to her of things in the past which she had deemed to be long ago forgotten. And, strangest thing of all, he had just asked for a book.
"Oh, do you really think you could follow it?" Pat asked. "Do you realize, dad, that you haven't looked at a book for two years? I should say it was more than that."