Poor March saw, by the simplicity of his companion’s looks, that gallantry and compliments were alike thrown away on her; so he resolved to try them no more. Having come to this conclusion, he said—
“I say, Mary, come and sit by me while I talk with you. I want to know how you came to be in this wild, out-o’-the-way place, and who Dick is, and what brought him here, an’ in short, all about it.”
The girl drew her log near as he desired, but said, “What Dick no tell, me no tell.”
“But, surely,” urged March in a somewhat testy tone, “you may tell me something about ye.”
Mary shook her head.
“Why not?”
“Dick say, ‘No tell.’”
“Oh! Dick’s an ass!”
Had Mary known the meaning of her companion’s rude speech, she might possibly have surprised him with a decided opinion in regard to himself. But, never having heard of nor seen such a creature in all her life, she only looked up with a quiet expression of curiosity, and said—
“What bees an ass?”