“Has the girl been unkind?” his friend asked.
Jacob showed him the letter.
“She’s not generous,” was Dauncey’s comment, as he returned it.
“She’s loyal, at any rate,” Jacob replied.
Dauncey’s face suddenly softened. His wife was leaning over the gate waving her hand. His eyes watched her retreating figure until she disappeared.
“Somehow or other,” he ventured a little hesitatingly, as he turned back to Jacob, “I can’t help thinking that the tone of that letter isn’t altogether womanly. She must know the truth about her father’s position. It doesn’t seem fair to blame you for your perfectly reasonable attitude.”
“Why, even you thought I was hard at the time,” Jacob reminded him.
“You were hard but you were just, and your offer to the young lady and her mother should certainly have evoked some feeling of gratitude. I don’t like a woman to be too independent.”
“You’ve never seen her,” Jacob groaned.