"I do want to," he said, "and I wish I had such a companion to show me the way over the mountain and through the entire country."
Unheeding this remark, she said, "Hit's a little lonely, livin' alone, hain't it?"
"It is while I am not very well acquainted with my neighbors, but I shall become better acquainted soon. One cannot expect to be greatly elated at once, or happy altogether, until he knows his neighbors well."
"Nice folks 'round here," she replied. "Once you git to know them you are sure to like them."
There came a moment of silence.
"Do you live in the house toward the mountain?" asked Wade.
"That's Dad's house. I live there—have lived there for many years."
"You are very fond of the hills and ravines, I presume?"
"An' the brooks. They are the only companions I have ever known, except my brother, an' he's been in the saddle ever since I was old enough to have companions, or remember anything. They are my friends,—the cow and the dog, the chickens an' the geese, the ducks an' the turkeys, an' even the grunting pigs, are the only friends I have ever known."
"What a terribly lonesome life that seems to have been."