He had made no bones about it, spoke out plainly, and Jane learned the
lesson well.

"Her's got no mother," Tom said to himself, "and it's my place to warn
her. She'd best know what's what and then she can't stumble with her
eyes open," and in his rough way he saw farther than people who avoided
responsibilities in this direction.

Jane was therefore well armed against the wiles of unprincipled men,
although it had hitherto been her good fortune not to encounter any.
There had been kisses and embraces and Jane accepted them without much
enthusiasm or response. Carl Meason's lovemaking left her cold;
somehow she hardly thought it real. She did not tell Tom of these
embraces and he forebore to push inquiries. His occupation made him
suspicious and watchful; he was the terror of poachers and evil-doers
among the game, and had tracked many notorious men down. Although he
loved money he surmised that Carl Meason's occasional fivers were not
given for nothing, they were to smooth the way for Jane's favor.

If the man meant well by his daughter there was no harm done; if ill,
then he would settle with him in a way that would astonish before any
damage was done.

Carl Meason quickly discovered he would have to play straight with Jane
Thrush, also her father, and for once in a way he was inclined to do
this; it was after all the easiest to get what he wanted.

So far he had never given much thought to taking a wife, but when he
considered everything, turning the pros and cons over, he came to the
conclusion Jane Thrush was worth some sort of sacrifice. He would not
surrender any of his liberty, once she was his he would mold her to his
will; he fancied this would be easy--he was mistaken, as better men
have been.

It was a relief from his work to talk and make love to Jane, also to
think about her at night when touring round the country in his motor.
There were other things to think about, and sometimes he dreaded what
might happen when the time came for the devilish engines of destruction
to work. Carl valued human life little, except in the care of his own
body, and had been instrumental in sending many to death. He knew
there were thousands of Germans in the country; they had been spying
out the land for years, and he wondered at the supineness of the
authorities in allowing it. He cared little who won the war so long as
he reaped his reward. He would have been willing to accept pay from
both sides had it be