"Dear Dan!"
"I didn't hate him—I jest nacherally wanted to kill him—and wantin' to do that made me glad. Isn't that funny, Kate?"
He spoke of it as a chance traveller might point out a striking feature of the landscape to a companion.
"Dan, if you really care for me you must drop the thought of him."
His hand slipped away.
"How can I do that? That writin' I was tellin' you about—"
"Yes?"
"It's about him!"
"Ah!"
"When he hit me the first time—"