"Do I deserve that reproach? I hope not. Really, she and you present a singular romance."
"It is not a romance; it's only a sort of understanding."
"But you say there is no perfect understanding. Oh, a sort of romance. I see. Well, you will make her a good husband and consequently a good living."
A vision of the Professor as he had sat amid his shifting toasts to woman arose before Milford. "Good husband, I hope; and a good living, I am determined," he said.
"You couldn't have made a better reply, Mr. Milford, if you had pondered a week. You are quite happy at times. It was voted last summer that you had good blood, and you must have it still," she added with a smile. "Although you call yourself a Westerner, you are really from the East, I believe."
"Yes, but to live in the West soon rubs out the marks of all sections."
"True enough, I suppose. But do you expect to go back there?"
"Yes, but I don't know how long I'll stay. I may run out and come straight back. I can't tell. It all depends."
"Upon Gunhild's decision?"
"Not wholly. The fact is I can't explain myself. Oh, I could," he added, observing her wondering eye, "but I serve my purpose best by——"