That's a
bold confession for a girl to make; but I've got even a bolder request:
please climb up here and ride."
He climbed up. He went up with alacrity. From the first of their
acquaintance the girl had interested him--and yet it was more than mere
interest or feminine attraction. Her culture, her keen analysis of
events and men, her knowledge of conditions informed and instructed him.
Her subtle humor and droll insight into the characters of those who
attempted to pose in the public eye entertained him, for he lacked
humor. But, most of all, her satire gave him a truer perspective. Fresh
from the north country, where his knowledge of public men had been
limited to the information which newspapers had given him, he had
classed them wrongly. His own gravity had given them too eminent
qualities. The girl, knowing them, had pricked their assumptions with
good-humored satire, and he looked at them again and found them as she
said. As he sat beside her and the horse walked on, he was conscious
that in avoiding her he had been depriving himself both of entertainment
and valuable instruction.
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