'You see, it’s this way, Richard: a feeling is a feeling. There are only just so many of 'em in the world, and if you know what any one of 'em is like, you do. That’s all.
'When I spoke to father about my plans again, he looked as if I’d hurt him. A pitiful, caught look came in his eyes, and he said, "Don’t let’s talk about it now, Seth. I—I reelly ain’t up to it to-day."
'There was something in what he said, or the way he said it, that just seemed to hit my heart a smashing blow. I felt like I’d swallowed a pound of shot, and yet I didn’t know why. I couldn’t see anything wrong, nor any reason why my plans wasn’t for the best, for all of us. But those few words he said, and the way he looked, upset me so that I went off to the barn after school that afternoon and climbed into the hay-mow to find a quiet place to figure the thing out. I hadn’t been there long before I heard voices down below, and Cynthy’s laugh, and somebody climbing the ladder. It was Cynthy and Dick. Sarah had sent 'em out to hunt more eggs for a cake she was bakin'.
'I didn’t think they’d stay long, and I wanted to be let alone, so I just kept quiet.
'Now I want to say before I go any further that Dick would have been a great deal more no-account than he was if he hadn’t admired Cynthy, and it wasn’t any wonder she liked him. Besides what there was to him, there was plenty of little reasons, like the kind of neckties he wore and the way he kept his shoes shined. There was always a kind of style about Dick.
'They rustled round, laughing and talking, till they got the five eggs they was sent for, and then Cynthy made as if she started down the ladder. Dick held her back.
'"Not till you’ve kissed me!" said he.
'"I’m ashamed of you," said she.
'"I’m proud of myself," said he, "to think I know enough to want it. Why, Cynthy, I ain’t never had one, but I’d swear a kiss of yours would be like the flutter of an angel’s wing across my lips."
'"That’s foolishness," said she; but she said it softly, as if she liked foolishness.