The loose boards lying around the yard had been piled up neatly, and the paths were freshly swept.

All that evening John Jay's eyes followed her with curious glances whichever way she turned, as if he found her changed.

The change was in John Jay.
Next day, when she came home, she found the same state of affairs.

It was early in the afternoon, and the children were out playing.

She hung up her sun-bonnet, and dropped wearily down into a chair.