rl that won't leave a feller kiss her or hug her!"

"I'm sure I don't know what you do see in it, Absalom. I told you not
to come."

"If I ain't to hold your hand or kiss yon, what are we to do to pass
the time?" he reasoned.

"I'll tell you, Absalom. Let me read to you. Then we wouldn't be
wasting the evening."

"I ain't much fur readin'. I ain't like Teacher." He frowned and looked
at her darkly. "I've took notice how much fur books you are that way.
Last Sunday night, too, you sayed, 'Let me read somepin to you.' Mebbe
you and Teacher will be settin' up readin' together. And mebbe the Doc
wasn't just jokin' when he sayed Teacher might cut me out!"

"Please, Absalom," Tillie implored him, "don't talk so loud!"

"I don't care! I hope he hears me sayin' that if he ever comes tryin'
to get my girl off me, I 'll get pop to have him put off his job!"

"None of you know what you are talking about," Tillie indignantly
whispered. "You can't understand. The teacher is a man that wouldn't
any more keep company with one of us country girls than you would keep
company, Absalom, with a gipsy. He's ABOVE us!"

"Well, I guess if you're good enough fur me, Tillie Getz, you're good
enough fur anybody else--leastways fur a man that gets his job off the
wotes of your pop and mine!"

"The teacher is a--a gentleman, Absalom."

Absalom did not understand. "Well, I guess I know he ain't a lady. I
guess I know what his sek is!"

Tillie sighed in despair, and sank back on the settee. For a few
minutes they sat in strained silence.

"I never seen a girl like what you are! You're wonderful different to
the other girls I've knew a'ready."

Tillie did not reply.

"Where d'you come by them books you read?"

"The Doc gets them for me."

"Well, Tillie, look-ahere. I spoke somepin to the Doc how I wanted to
fetch you somepin along when I come over sometime, and I ast him what,
now, he thought you would mebbe like. And he sayed a book. So I got
Cousin Sally Puntz to fetch one along fur me from the Methodist
Sunday-school li-bry, and here I brung it over to you."

He produced a small volume from his coat pocket.

"I was 'most ashamed to bring it, it's so wonderful little. I tole
Cousin Sally, 'Why didn't you bring me a bigger book?' And she sayed
she did try to get a bigger one, but they was all. There's one in that
li-bry with four hunderd pages. I tole her, now, she's to try to get me
that there one next Sunday before it's took