Gathered In by Catherine Helen Spence — Read

David Henderson saw that both of these beautiful young women were interested in an extraordinary manner in his young friend, though they showed it so differently. He thought of the infatuation of the poor dead Jim for Mrs. Ellerton, of his suspicions that Kenneth, too, was impressed deeply by her beauty and her sorrows, and of the husband's long careless absence from her. He looked at Ellerton, who seemed to have lost his old easy assurance, and his old habit of interrupting conversation by remarks beside the subject; he saw that he had a deep though restrained interest in the discussion as to the probabilities of the case, and that the remarks he made had not the old natural careless tone. The bush missionary also took note of his observation that he had been kept so long on low diet that he could not do as much justice as he used to do to the Wilta cook's excellent menu.

With all Ellerton's avowed contempt for such a man, he felt the power of his eyes, and of his acute and telling suggestions as to the points in favour of Kenneth, and he tried to turn his face so that it could not be seen by him, away from his wife, and towards Mr. Hardy, who was the least interested person in the company.