thoughtyoushouldhavedoneandItoldyou。“
“Yes，youdid。Youcertainlytoldme。“
“Well，didn’tyouwantmetotellyou？“
“Idon’tknowthatIwantedyoutotellmejustthat。“
“ButyouaskedmewhatIthought，andthatisexactlywhatIthink。
Don’tYOUthinkitiswhatyoushouldhavedone？“
Crawfordhesitated；thenhelaughed。“Whyyes，confoundit，Ido，“
headmitted。“ButIhopedyouwouldtellmethatwhatIdiddowasright。“
“WhetherIthoughtsoornot？“
“Why——well——er——yes。Honestlynow，didn’tyouknowIwantedyoutosaytheotherthing？“
ItwasMary’sturntohesitate；thenshe，too，laughed。
“Why，yes，Isuppose——“shebegan；andfinishedwith，“Yes，Idid。“
“Thenwhydidn’tyousayit？Mostgirlswould。“
“Perhapsthatiswhy。Ijudgethatmostgirlsofyouracquaintancesayjustaboutwhatyouwantthemto。Don’tyouthinkitisgoodforyoutobetoldthetruthoccasionally？“
Itwasgoodforhim，ofcourse，and，incidentally，ithadthefascinationofnovelty。Herewasagirlfulloffun，readytotakeajokeaswellasgiveone，neitherflatteringnorexpectingflattery，acountrygirlwhohadkeptstore，yetspeakingofthatphaseofherlifequiteasfreelyasshedidofthefashionableMissesCabot’sschool，notatallashamedtosayshecouldnotaffordthisorthat，simpleandunaffectedbutself-respectingandproud；agirlwhowasatalltimesherselfandretainedherpoiseandcommonsenseeveninthepresenceofhandsomeyoungdemigodwhohadmadetwotouchdownsagainstYale。
ItwasextremelygoodforCrawfordSmithtoknowsuchagirl。Shehelpedhimtokeephisfeetonthegroundandhisheadfromswelling。Notthattherewasmuchdangerofthelatterhappening，fortheheadwasaprettygoodone，butMaryLathrop’scommonsensewasastimulating——andfascinating——reenforcementtohisown。AshehadsaidontheSundayafternoonoftheirfirstmeetinginBoston，itwasarelieftohavesomeonetotalktowhounderstoodandappreciatedafellow’sseriousthoughtsaswellasthefrivolousones。HisapproachinggraduationfromHarvardandtheworkwhichhewouldbeginattheMedicalSchoolinthefallwereverymuchinhismindjustnow。HetoldMaryhisplansandsheandhediscussedthem。Shehadplansofherown，principallyconcerningwhatshemeanttodotomakelifeeasierforheruncleswhenherschooldayswereover，andthesealsowerediscussed。
“But，“hesaid，“that’sreallynonsense，afterall，isn’tit？“
“What？“
“Why，theideaofyourkeepingstoreagain。You’llneverdothat。“
“IndeedIshall！Whynot？“
“Why，because——“
“Becausewhat？“
“Because——well，becauseIdon’tthinkyouwill，that’sall。Girlslikeyoudon’thavetokeepacountrystore，youknow——atleast，notforlong。“
Theremarkwasintendedtoplease；itmighthavepleasedsomegirls，butitdidnotpleasethisone。Mary’sdignitywasoffended。
Anythingapproachingasluruponherbeloveduncles，ortheirplaceofbusiness，orSouthHarniss，ortheCapeCodpeople，sheresentedwithallhermight。Hereyessnapped。
“IdonotHAVEtokeepstoreatanytime，“shesaidcrisply，“inthecountryorelsewhere。IdoitbecauseIwishtoandIshallcontinuetodoitaslongasIchoose。Ifmyfriendsdonotunderstandthatfactandappreciatemyreasons，theyarenotmyfriends，thatisall。“
Crawfordthrewupbothhands。“Whew！“heexclaimed。“Don’tshoot；
I’llcomedown！GreatScott！Ifyoutakeafellow’sheadofflikethatwhenhepaysyouacomplimentwhatwouldyoudoifhedaredtocriticize？“
“Wasthatremarkofyoursintendedasacompliment？“
“Notexactly；moreasastatementoffact。Imeant——Imeant——Oh，comenow，Mary！YouknowperfectlywellwhatImeant。Ownup。“
Marytriedhardtobesolemnandsevere，butthetwinkleinhiseyewasinfectiousandinspiteofhereffortherlipstwitched。
“Ownup，now，“persistedCrawford。“YouknowwhatImeant。Now，don’tyou？“
“Well——well，IsupposeIdo。ButIthinktheremarkwasaverysillyone。ThatisthewaySamKeithtalks。“
“Eh？Oh，doeshe！“
“Yes。OrhewouldifIwouldlethim。Andhedoesitmuchbetterthanyoudo。“
“Well，Ilikethat！“
“Idon’t。ThatiswhyIdon’twantyoutodoit。Iexpectyoutobemoresensible。And，besides，Iwon’thaveyouoranyonemakingfunofmyuncles’store。“
“Makingfunofit！Ishouldsaynot！Ihaveavividandmostrespectfulmemoryofit，asyououghttoknow。Bytheway，youtoldmeyouruncleshadsentyoutheirphotographs。MayIseethem？“
Marybroughtthephotographsfromherroom。TheyhadbeentakenbythephotographeratOstableincompliancewithwhatamountedtoanorderonherpart，andtheresultsshowedtwoelderlymartyrsdressedinrespectablebutuncomfortableSundayclothesandapparentlyawaitingexecution。Onthebackofonemournfulexhibitwaswritten，“MaryAugustafromUncleShadrach，“andontheother，“UncleZoethtoMaryAugusta，withmuchlove。“
“Now，don’tlaugh，“commandedMary，asshehandedthephotographstoCrawford。“Iknowtheyarefunny，butifyoulaughI’llneverforgiveyou。Thepoordearshadthemtakenexpresslytopleaseme，andIamperfectlysureeitherwouldhavepreferredhavingatoothout。TheyAREthebestmenintheworldandIammorecertainofiteveryday。“
Crawforddidnotlaughatthephotographs。Hewasayounggentlemanofconsiderablediscretionandhedidnotsmile，notevenatCaptainShad’shands，theleftwithfingersseparatedandclutchingakneeasiftokeepitfromshaking，therightlaidwoodenlyuponagorgeouslyboundparlor-tablecopyof“Lucille。“Insteadoflaughinghepraisedtheoriginalsofthepictures，talkedreminiscentlyofhisownvisitinSouthHarniss，andfinallyproducedfromhispocketbookasmallphotographicprint，whichhelaiduponthetablebesidetheothers。
“Ibroughtthattoshowyou，“hesaid。“Youwereaskingaboutmyfather，youknow，andItoldyouIhadn’tarespectablephotographofhim。Thatwastrue；Ihaven’t。DadhasanothereccentricitybesideshisdislikeoftheEastandEasternwaysofliving；hehasaperfecthorrorofhavinghisphotographtaken。Don’taskmewhy，becauseIcan’ttellyou。Itisn’tbecauseheisugly；he’samightygood-lookingmanforhisage，ifIdosayit。Buthehasaprejudiceagainstphotographsofhimselfandwon’tevenpermitmetotakeasnapshotifhecanpreventit。Sayspeoplewhoarealwayshavingtheirpicturestakenarevain，conceitedidiots，andsoon。
However，Icatchhimunawaresoccasionally，andthisisasnapI
tooklastsummer。HeandIwereonafishingtripupinthemountains。We’regreatpals，DadandI——morethanmostfathersandsons，Iimagine。“
Marytookthephotographandstudieditwithinterest。Mr。Smith，senior，wasabigman，broad-shoulderedandheavy，withafullgraybeardandmustache。Heworeabroad-brimmedhat，whichshadedhisforeheadsomewhat，buthiseyesandtheshapeofhisnosewerelikehisson’s。
MarylookedatthephotographandCrawfordlookedather。
“Well，whatdoyouthinkofhim？“askedtheyoungmanafteraninterval。
“Think？“repeatedMaryabsently，stillstaringatthephotograph。
“Why，I——Idon’tknowwhatyoumean。“
“Imeanwhatisyouropinionofmyrespecteddad？Youmusthaveonebythistime。Yougenerallyhaveoneonmostsubjectsandyou’vebeenlookingatthatpictureforatleastfiveminutes。“
“HaveI？Ibegyourpardon；Ididn’trealize。Thepictureinterestedme。Ihaveneverseenyourfather，haveI？No，ofcourseIhaven’t。ButitalmostseemsasifIhad。PerhapsIhaveseensomeonewholookslikehim。“
“Shouldn’twonder。Myself，forinstance。“
“Ofcourse。Thatwasstupidofme，wasn’tit？Helookslikeaninterestingman，onewhohashadexperiences。“
“Hehas。Daddoesn’ttalkabouthimselfmuch，eventome，buthehadsomehardrubsbeforehereachedthesmoothplaces。Hadtofighthisway，Iguess。“
“Helooksasifhehad。Buthegothiswayintheend，Ishouldimagine。Hedoesn’tlooklikeonewhogivesupeasily。“
“Heisn’t。Prettystubbornsometimes，Dadis，butabricktome，justthesame。“
“WasyourmotheranEasternwoman？“
“No。ShewasaWesterner，fromCalifornia。Dadwasmarriedtwice。
HisfirstwifecamefromNewEnglandsomewhere，Ibelieve。Ididn’tknowtherehadbeenanotherwifeuntilIwasnearlyfifteenyearsold，andthenIfounditoutentirelybyaccident。Shewasburiedinanothertown，yousee。Isawhernamefirstonthegravestoneanditmadeanimpressiononmebecauseitwassooddandold-