"Are you sure you don't mean Oswald?"
"Oh no. Oswald says boys are never pretty; only brave. But I think men are pretty sometimes."
"What do you find pretty in me? Eh?"
Jean found response easy. "Your eyes are pretty," she said. "They look so funny. And your mouth is pretty, only you're getting a horrid moustache. And I like the way you do your hair. It's got a nice wave just on the forehead. And you laugh so often. Nobody's pretty that doesn't smile."
"But Miss Evelyn Devereux smiles."
"Oh, not like you."
"What a pity Jean doesn't smile more!"
"I shouldn't be pretty, anyhow."
Jem could not contradict this. He patted her arm.
"Never mind. You are a nice little girl, and I like you. What is to be your next step?"