"Anybody could see that at a glance!"
"Well," Carroll added cautiously, "I must confess that I've taken some interest in the girl—partly because you were obviously doing so. In a general way, what I noticed rather surprised me. It wasn't what I expected."
"You smart folks are as often wrong as the rest of us. I suppose you looked for cold-blooded assurance, tempered by what one might call experienced coquetry?"
"Something of the kind," Carroll agreed. "As you say, I was wrong. There are only two ways of explaining Miss Blake, and the first's the one that would strike most people. That is, she's acting a part, possibly with an object; holding her natural self in check, and doing it cleverly."
Vane laughed scornfully.
"I've lived in the woods for nine years, but I wouldn't have entertained that idea for five seconds!"
"Then, there's the other explanation. It's simply that the girl's life hasn't affected her. Somehow, she has kept fresh and wholesome. I think that's the correct view."
"There's no doubt of it!" declared Vane.
"You offered to help her in some way?"
"I did; I don't know how you guessed it. I said I'd find her a situation.
She wouldn't hear of it."