She stood cold and defiant. "Not with words that I didn't understand, but sometimes when he looks into my eyes I feel that he is tellin' me with somethin' I do understand, and now—now I must shut my eyes." And catching up the churn she ran into the house, Mrs. Mayfield calling after her.
"Come back, Lou, I didn't mean that. Please come back and let me explain." She hastened toward the door and Lou came running out. "Lou, I didn't mean—" But she would not stay to hear. She ran away and Mrs. Mayfield was begging her to return when Tom came hurriedly out of the house. The girl had seen him and with fluttering heart she was seeking the loneliness of the woods.
Mrs. Mayfield seized Tom by the hand. "Just a moment, Tom. Wait, sir; just a moment." He strove to pull away, but she held him back.
"Yes, as soon as I catch the fawn. Let me go, please."
"Why, have things come to such a pass as this? Wait just a moment, I tell you."
"Well, what is it?"
"Why won't you be more considerate? Why do you act this way? What are you trying to do? You must remember that Mr. Starbuck is our host, and that his daughter, while one of the most lovable of little girls—"
"Ah, you are leaving off your romance and are coming down to level-headedness. Yes, she is lovable and as sweet as a wild strawberry, and I have fought against this thing until I am tired of it. But what are you trying to get at?"
"She is not of your world, Tom."
"Oh, world be blowed. I've got no world—never had one."