with tireless vigilance. If it were yellow gold, she
could not have gathered the butter from the churn with greater greed.
She kept the house immaculate and sought to develop her cooking into a
fine art. She was scrupulous in giving Jane her lessons and trying to
correct her vernacular and manners, but the presence of the child grew
to be a heavier cross every day. She could not blame the girl, whose
misfortune it was to lead incidentally to the change in Holcroft's
manner, yet it was impossible not to associate her with the beginning
of that change. Jane was making decided improvement, and had Alida
been happy and at rest this fact would have given much satisfaction in
spite of the instinctive repugnance which the girl seemed to inspire
universally. Holcroft recognized this repugnance and the patient
effort to disguise it and be kind.

"Like enough she feels in the same way toward me," he thought, "and is
trying a sight harder not to show it. But she seems willing enough to
talk business and to keep up her interest in the partnership line.
Well, blamed if I wouldn't rather talk business to her than love to any
other woman!"

So it gradually came about that they had more and more to say to each
other on matters relating to the farm. Holcroft showed her the
receipts from the dairy, and her eyes sparkled as if he had brought
jewels home to her. Then she in turn would expatiate on the poultry
interests and assure him that there were already nearly two hundred
little chicks on the place. One afternoon, during a shower, she
ventured to beguile him into listening to the greater part of one of
the agricultural journals, and with much deference made two or three
suggestions about the farm, which he saw were excellent. She little
dreamed that if she were willing to talk of turning the farm upside
down and inside out, he would have listened with pleasure.

They both began to acquire more serenity and hopefulness, for even this
sordid business partnership was growing strangely interesting. The
meals grew less and less silent, and the farmer would smoke his pipe
invitingly near in the evening so that she could resume their talk on
bucolic subjects without much conscious effort, while at the same time,
if she did not wish his society, she could shun it without discourtesy.
He soon perceived that she needed some encouragement to talk even of
farm matters; but, having received it, that she showed no further
reluctance.