After a quarter of an hour, spent mostly in revery, he rose, put up his books, closed the door, and took the same path he had followed the day before.

As he neared the spot where he had come on the girl, he almost expected to find her propped against the rock as he had found her the afternoon before.

He was conscious of a distinct shock of loneliness that she was not there.

The woods had never appeared so empty; the soughing of the pines had never sounded so dreary.
He threw himself down on the thick brown carpet.

He had not felt so lonely in years.