f it by a newspaper woman who lived at the
top of the hill? Hardly!

None the less, he realised that a man might firmly believe in Affinity,
and, through a chain of unfortunate circumstances, become the victim
of Propinquity. He had known of such instances and was now face to face
with the dilemma.

Then his face flooded with dull colour. "Darn it," he said to himself,
savagely, "what an unmitigated cad I am! All this is on the assumption
that she's likely to fall on my neck at any minute! Lord!"

Yet there was a certain comfort in the knowledge that he was safe, even
if he should fall in love with Miss Thorne. That disdainful young woman
would save him from himself, undoubtedly, when he reached the danger
point, if not before.

"I wonder how a fellow would go about it anyway," he thought. "He
couldn't make any sentimental remarks, without being instantly frozen.
She's like the Boston girls we read about in the funny papers. He
couldn't give her things, either, except flowers or books, or sweets, or
music. She has more books than she wants, because she reviews'em for the
paper, and I don't think she's musical. She doesn't look like the candy
fiends, and I imagine she'd pitch a box of chocolates into the sad sea,
or give it to Hepsey. There's nothing left but flowers--and I suppose
she wouldn't notice'em.

"A man would have to teach her to like him, and, on my soul, I don't
know how he'd do that. Constant devotion wouldn't have any effect--I
doubt if she'd permit it; and a fellow might stay away from her for
six months, without a sign from her. I guess she's cold--no, she isn't,
either--eyes and temper like hers don't go with the icebergs.

"I--that is, he couldn't take her out, because there's no place to go.
It's different in the city, of course, but if he happened to meet her in
the country, as I've done--

"Might ask her to drive, possibly, if I could rent Alfred and Mamie for
a few hours--no, we'd have to have the day, for anything over two miles,
and that wouldn't be good form, without a chaperone. Not that she needs
one--she's equal to any emergency, I fancy. Besides, she wouldn't go.
If I could get those two plugs up the hill, without pushing 'em, gravity
would take'em back, but I couldn't ask her to walk up the hill after
the pleasure excursion was over. I don't believe a drive would entertain
her.

"Perhaps she'd like to fish--no, she wouldn't, for she said she didn't
like worms. Might sail on the bri