"Of course you are from the East?"
"Yes, from Wisconsin."
He laughed. "We call Wisconsin a Western State. Of course, it's the ignorant prejudice of the New-Yorker, but I find it hard to think of you as actual residents of this far-away little town. I thought only miners lived here?"
"We are miners. My husband has a mine up in the Basin, but he's putting in some new machinery just now and is unable to come down but once a week." Then mildly resenting his implied criticism of the town, she added: "We have just as nice people here as you'll find anywhere."
He responded gallantly, "I am quite prepared to believe that, Mrs. Lambert. But do many nice people like you live here all the year round?" He was bent on drawing the girl out, but she did not respond.
The mother answered: "I haven't been away except to take my daughter East to school."
He was cautious. "By East you mean Milwaukee?"
"Diamond Lake, Wisconsin."
He turned to the girl. "How long were you away?"
"Four years."