He had never walked with any lass.

Whether from shyness or surliness, he had held consistently aloof from such frivolous pastimes.

If a girl ever cast a saucy look his way the brooding blue eyes never seemed aware of it.

In speech with womenkind he was always slow and half-reluctant.

That his great bull-like physique could by any means be an object of admiration was a possibility that he never seemed to contemplate.