“Oh, Harold, you ought not to have done it!” but Uncle Everett showed how deeply he was touched by this strong mark of devotion; and Harold, drawing up a chair, sat silent for a few moments. The house had seemed so terribly bereft and lonely as he had come up through it, that he found he had hardly the heart to talk. And yet what had he stayed at home for if not to be, if possible, of some cheer and comfort? But there was no use in making an effort to talk about anything but exactly what was uppermost.