Her presence in Flambeau went far towards making his humdrum existence bearable, but of late he had found himself dwelling with growing seriousness on the unhappy circumstances of her birth, and had almost made up his mind that it would be wise not to see her any more.

The tempting vision of her in the ball-dress remained vividly in his imagination, causing him hours of sweet torment.

There was a sparkle, a fineness, a gentleness about her that seemed to make the few women he had known well dull and commonplace, and even his sister, whom till now he had held as the perfection of all things feminine, suffered by comparison with this maiden of the frontier.
He was steeped in this sweet, grave melancholy, when a knock came at his door, and he arose to find Necia herself there, excited and radiant.

She came in without sign of embarrassment or slightest consciousness of the possible impropriety of her act.
"The most wonderful thing has happened," she began at once, when she found they were alone.

"You'll faint for joy." "What is it ?" "Nobody knows except father and Poleon and the two new men--" "What is it ?" "I teased the news out of mother, and then came right here." He laughed.