I daresay my best plan will be to sit tight, and let her work herself up a bit.

There's nothing like a little wholesome neglect for bringing a girl to her bearings!'.

.

.
For a while he walked on in satisfied self-complacency.
'Confound her! why couldn't she have let me know that she was fond of me in some decent way, without all that formal theatrical proposing?
It's a deuced annoying thing in the long run the way the women get fond of me.
Though it's nice enough in some ways while it lasts!' he added, as if in unwilling recognition of fact.

As the path debouched on the highroad he said to himself half aloud: 'Well, she's a mighty fine girl, anyhow! And if she is red I've had about enough of the black!.