It was not so much the lecture which interested him as the legs which looked straighter and stronger each day, the boyish head which held itself up so well, the once sharp chin and hollow cheeks which had filled and rounded out and the eyes which had begun to hold the light he remembered in another pair.

Sometimes when Colin felt Ben's earnest gaze meant that he was much impressed he wondered what he was reflecting on and once when he had seemed quite entranced he questioned him.
"What are you thinking about, Ben Weatherstaff ?" he asked.
"I was thinkin'" answered Ben, "as I'd warrant tha's, gone up three or four pound this week.

I was lookin' at tha' calves an' tha' shoulders.
I'd like to get thee on a pair o' scales." "It's the Magic and--and Mrs.Sowerby's buns and milk and things," said Colin.

"You see the scientific experiment has succeeded." That morning Dickon was too late to hear the lecture.

When he came he was ruddy with running and his funny face looked more twinkling than usual.