"I was there a few minutes," he responded. But he did not add that he had gone away with the ruffians to prevent their disturbing her.
She expressed the wish that he would visit the Bible school.
"Oh, I haven't been in a church since I was a kid," he blurted out. "Then my stepfather turned me out ter earn my livin'. I'm now twenty-eight, an' I don't know nothin' but cattle, an' bears, an' wolves an' Indians."
"It is sad not to have a home, isn't it?" she said.
"Oh, I don't know 'bout it's bein' sad," he answered, as though embarrassed. There was a change of expression in his face.
"But then your being thrown upon your own resources has made you brave, and self-reliant, and strong."
He squared his shoulders.
"In some ways, you have had great opportunities, Mr. Harding,—"
"Oh, don't call me 'Mr. Harding,'" he interrupted, "Call me 'Jack.'"
"I'll try to remember." Her face lighted. "These opportunities have given you magnificent physical strength. I know people who would give a fortune just to have your superb strength."