Under this ceaseless persecution, Laura’s morbid self-communing was renewed.  At night the day’s contribution of detraction, innuendo and malicious conjecture would be canvassed in her mind, and then she would drift into a course of thinking.  As her thoughts ran on, the indignant tears would spring to her eyes, and she would spit out fierce little ejaculations at intervals.  But finally she would grow calmer and say some comforting disdainful thing—­something like this: 

“But who are they?—­Animals!  What are their opinions to me?  Let them talk—­I will not stoop to be affected by it.  I could hate——.  Nonsense—­nobody I care for or in any way respect is changed toward me, I fancy.”

She may have supposed she was thinking of many individuals, but it was not so—­she was thinking of only one.  And her heart warmed somewhat, too, the while.  One day a friend overheard a conversation like this:  —­and naturally came and told her all about it: 

“Ned, they say you don’t go there any more.  How is that?”

“Well, I don’t; but I tell you it’s not because I don’t want to and it’s not because I think it is any matter who her father was or who he wasn’t, either; it’s only on account of this talk, talk, talk.  I think she is a fine girl every way, and so would you if you knew her as well as I do; but you know how it is when a girl once gets talked about—­it’s all up with her—­the world won’t ever let her alone, after that.”

The only comment Laura made upon this revelation, was: 

“Then it appears that if this trouble had not occurred I could have had the happiness of Mr. Ned Thurston’s serious attentions.  He is well favored in person, and well liked, too, I believe, and comes of one of the first families of the village.  He is prosperous, too, I hear; has been a doctor a year, now, and has had two patients—­no, three, I think; yes, it was three.  I attended their funerals.  Well, other people have hoped and been disappointed; I am not alone in that.  I wish you could stay to dinner, Maria—­we are going to have sausages; and besides, I wanted to talk to you about Hawkeye and make you promise to come and see us when we are settled there.”

But Maria could not stay.  She had come to mingle romantic tears with Laura’s over the lover’s defection and had found herself dealing with a heart that could not rise to an appreciation of affliction because its interest was all centred in sausages.

But as soon as Maria was gone, Laura stamped her expressive foot and said: 

“The coward!  Are all books lies?  I thought he would fly to the front, and be brave and noble, and stand up for me against all the world, and defy my enemies, and wither these gossips with his scorn!  Poor crawling thing, let him go.  I do begin to despise thin world!”

She lapsed into thought.  Presently she said: 

“If the time ever comes, and I get a chance, Oh, I’ll——­”