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-