Every one will desert us now, and we shall have to live alone without friends." "Oh no" (abruptly); "nobody blames you." "I don't mind for myself so much; I don't care so much about what people think, or how they treat me." She lifted her head proudly as she spoke.
"But" (with pathos) "it's hard on Christa." "No; you never think of yourself, do you ?" David giggled a little as he said it, betraying that he felt his words to be unusually personal.

Ann wondered for a minute what could be the cause of this giggle, and then she returned to the subject of Christa's suffering.
"Look here," he interrupted, "if there's any little thing I can do to help you, like lending you money if you're left hard up, or anything of that sort, you know" (he was blushing furiously now), "it's for you I'd do it," he blurted out.

"I don't care about Christa." "The silly fellow!" thought Ann.

She was six years older than he, and she felt herself to be twenty years older.

She entirely scorned his admiration in its young folly; but she did not hesitate a moment to make use of it.