They had many days now when they were very happy.  Jeff every day found that he really liked Melanctha better.  Now surely he was beginning to have real, deep feeling in him.  And still he loved to talk himself out to Melanctha, and he loved to tell her how good it all was to him, and how he always loved to be with her, and to tell her always all about it.  One day, now Jeff arranged, that Sunday they would go out and have a happy, long day in the bright fields, and they would be all day just alone together.  The day before, Jeff was called in to see Jane Harden.

Jane Harden was very sick almost all day and Jeff Campbell did everything he could to make her better.  After a while Jane became more easy and then she began to talk to Jeff about Melanctha.  Jane did not know how much Jeff was now seeing of Melanctha.  Jane these days never saw Melanctha.  Jane began to talk of the time when she first knew Melanctha.  Jane began to tell how in these days Melanctha had very little understanding.  She was young then and she had a good mind.  Jane Harden never would say Melanctha never had a good mind, but in those days Melanctha certainly had not been very understanding.  Jane began to explain to Jeff Campbell how in every way, she Jane, had taught Melanctha.  Jane then began to explain how eager Melanctha always had been for all that kind of learning.  Jane Harden began to tell how they had wandered.  Jane began to tell how Melanctha once had loved her, Jane Harden.  Jane began to tell Jeff of all the bad ways Melanctha had used with her.  Jane began to tell all she knew of the way Melanctha had gone on, after she had left her.  Jane began to tell all about the different men, white ones and blacks, Melanctha never was particular about things like that, Jane Harden said in passing, not that Melanctha was a bad one, and she had a good mind, Jane Harden never would say that she hadn’t, but Melanctha always liked to use all the understanding ways that Jane had taught her, and so she wanted to know everything, always, that they knew how to teach her.

Jane was beginning to make Jeff Campbell see much clearer.  Jane Harden did not know what it was that she was really doing with all this talking.  Jane did not know what Jeff was feeling.  Jane was always honest when she was talking, and now it just happened she had started talking about her old times with Melanctha Herbert.  Jeff understood very well that it was all true what Jane was saying.  Jeff Campbell was beginning now to see very clearly.  He was beginning to feel very sick inside him.  He knew now many things Melanctha had not yet taught him.  He felt very sick and his heart was very heavy, and Melanctha certainly did seem very ugly to him.  Jeff was at last beginning to know what it was to have deep feeling.  He took care a little longer of Jane Harden, and then he went to his other patients, and then he went home to his room, and he sat down and at last he had stopped thinking.