ny deep, except that there's no harbour
within ten miles, and she wouldn't trust her fair young life to me.
She'd be afraid I'd drown her.

"I suppose the main idea is to cultivate a clinging dependence, but I'd
like to see the man who could woo any dependence from Miss Thorne. She
holds her head like a thoroughbred touched with the lash. She said she
was afraid of Carlton, but I guess she was just trying to be pleasant.
I'll tell him about it--no, I won't, for I said I wouldn't.

"I wish there was some other girl here for me to talk to, but I'll be
lucky if I can get along peaceably with the one already here. I'll have
to discover all her pet prejudices and be careful not to walk on any of
'em. There's that crazy woman, for instance--I mustn't allude to her,
even respectfully, if I'm to have any softening feminine influence about
me before I go back to town. She didn't seem to believe I had any letter
from Carlton--that's what comes of being careless.

"I shouldn't have told her that people said she had large feet and wore
men's shoes. She's got a pretty foot; I noticed it particularly before I
spoke--I suppose she didn't like that--most girls wouldn't, I guess, but
she took it as a hunter takes a fence. Even after that, she said she'd
help me be patient, and last night, when she said she'd read the papers
to me--she was awfully sweet to me then.

"Perhaps she likes me a little bit--I hope so. She'd never care very
much for anybody, though--she's too independent. She wouldn't even let
me help her up the hill; I don't know whether it was independence, or
whether she didn't want me to touch her. If we ever come to a place
where she has to be helped, I suppose I'll have to put gloves on, or let
her hold one end of a stick while I hang on to the other.

"Still she didn't take her hand away last night, when I grabbed it.
Probably she was thinking about something else, and didn't notice. It's
a particularly nice hand to hold, but I'll never have another chance, I
guess.

"Carlton said she'd take the conceit out of me, if I had any. I'm glad
he didn't put that in the letter, still it doesn't matter, since I've lost
it. I wish I hadn't, for what he said about me was really very nice.
Carlton is a good fellow.

"How she lit on me when I thought the crazy person might make a good
special! Jerusalem! I felt like the dust under her feet. I'd be glad
to have anybody stand up for me, like that, but nobody ever will. She's
mi