“If you wasn’t all through just selfish and nothing else, Jeff Campbell, you would take care you wouldn’t have to tell me things like this, Jeff Campbell.”

Jeff was silent a little, and he waited before he gave his answer.  It was not the power of Melanctha’s words that held him, for, for them, he had his answer, it was the power of the mood that filled Melanctha, and for that he had no answer.  At last he broke through this awe, with his slow fighting resolution, and he began to give his answer.

“I don’t say ever, Melanctha,” he began, “it wouldn’t have been more right for me to stop Jane Harden in her talking and to come to you to have you tell me what you were when I never knew you.  I don’t say it, no never to you, that that would not have been the right way for me to do, Melanctha.  But I certainly am without any kind of doubting, I certainly do know for sure, I had a good right to know about what you were and your ways and your trying to use your understanding, every kind of way you could to get your learning.  I certainly did have a right to know things like that about you, Melanctha.  I don’t say it ever, Melanctha, and I say it very often, I don’t say ever I shouldn’t have stopped Jane Harden in her talking and come to you and asked you yourself to tell me all about it, but I guess I wanted to keep myself from how much it would hurt me more, to have you yourself say it to me.  Perhaps it was I wanted to keep you from having it hurt you so much more, having you to have to tell it to me.  I don’t know, I don’t say it was to help you from being hurt most, or to help me.  Perhaps I was a coward to let Jane Harden tell me ’stead of coming straight to you, to have you tell me, but I certainly am sure, Melanctha, I certainly had a right to know such things about you.  I don’t say it ever, ever, Melanctha, I hadn’t the just right to know those things about you.”  Melanctha laughed her harsh laugh.  “You needn’t have been under no kind of worry, Jeff Campbell, about whether you should have asked me.  You could have asked, it wouldn’t have hurt nothing.  I certainly never would have told you nothing.”  “I am not so sure of that, Melanctha,” said Jeff Campbell.  “I certainly do think you would have told me.  I certainly do think I could make you feel it right to tell me.  I certainly do think all I did wrong was to let Jane Harden tell me.  I certainly do know I never did wrong, to learn what she told me.  I certainly know very well, Melanctha, if I had come here to you, you would have told it all to me, Melanctha.”

He was silent, and this struggle lay there, strong, between them.  It was a struggle, sure to be going on always between them.  It was a struggle that was as sure always to be going on between them, as their minds and hearts always were to have different ways of working.

At last Melanctha took his hand, leaned over him and kissed him.  “I sure am very fond of you, Jeff Campbell,” Melanctha whispered to him.