He knew the Warners very well and Jane had always made a great impression on him by reason of her fearless ways and great powers and passionate love of work; and though he came to see very soon that work was her only passion, beyond her devoted attachment to her father, yet he couldn’t but mark that such a woman would be worth a gold-mine to any man who weren’t disposed to put womanly qualities first.  Of love he knew less than one of his working bees, but maybe had a dim vision at the back of his mind about it, which showed him clear enough that with Jane Warner, love-making could never amount to much.  He measured the one against t’other, however, and felt upon the whole that such a woman would be a tower of strength if she could only be got away from her parent.

And so he showed her how he was a good bit interested, and had speech with her, off and on, and made it pretty clear in his scant leisure that she could come to him if she was minded.  It pleased her a good bit to find such a remarkable man as Ball had found time to think upon her, and she also liked his opinions and his valiant hunger for hard work.  She’d even let herself think of him for five minutes sometimes before she went to sleep of a night, and what there was of woman in her felt a mild satisfaction to know there lived a man on earth she’d got the power to interest.  Marriage was far outside her scheme, of course; but there’s a lot that wouldn’t marry for a fortune, yet feel a good bit uplifted to know they might do so and that a male exists who thinks ’em worth while.

So Jane praised Martin Ball and let him see, as far as her nature allowed, that she thought well of him and his opinions and manner of life; and he began to believe he might get her.

He touched it very light indeed to John Warner one day when they met coming home on horse-back, and then he found himself up against a rock, for when he hinted that Warner would be losing his wonderful daughter some time, the farmer told him that was the very last thing on earth could ever happen.

“Never,” said John Warner.  “The likes of her be her father’s child to her boots.  I’m her life, Ball, and there’s no thought of marriage in her, nor never will be so long as I’m above-ground.  She ain’t that sort anyhow, and I’m glad of it.”

He wanted it both ways, you see.  In his grand powers of selfishness, John had planned to have Nelly for wife by now, and he’d also planned to keep his daughter, well knowing that no wife would do a quarter of what Jane did, or be so valuable on a business basis.  Jane for business and Nelly Bascombe for pleasure was his idea.