Idonotknowwithwhichofthetwoestimates——Mr。Taylor’sortheVirginian’s——youagreed。DidyouthinkthatMissMaryStarkWoodofBennington，Vermont，wasfortyyearsofage？Thatwouldhavebeenanerror。AtthetimeshewrotethelettertoMrs。
Balaam，ofwhichlettercertainportionshavebeenquotedinthesepages，shewasinhertwenty-firstyear；or，tobemoreprecise，shehadbeentwentysomeeightmonthsprevious。
Now，itisnotusualforyoungladiesoftwentytocontemplateajourneyofnearlytwothousandmilestoacountrywhereIndiansandwildanimalsliveunchained，unlesstheyaretomakesuchjourneyincompanywithaprotector，oraregoingtoaprotector’sarmsattheotherend。NorisschoolteachingonBearCreekausualambitionforsuchyoungladies。
ButMissMaryStarkWoodwasnotausualyoungladyfortworeasons。
First，therewasherdescent。Hadshesowished，shecouldhavebelongedtoanynumberofthosepatrioticsocietiesofwhichourAmericanearshavegrownaccustomedtohearsomuch。ShecouldhavebeenenrolledintheBostonTeaParty，theEthanAllenTiconderogas，theGreenMountainDaughters，theSaratogaSacredCircle，andtheConfederatedColonialChatelaines。Shetraceddirectdescentfromthehistoricladywhosenameshebore，thatMollyStarkwhowasnotawidowafterthebattlewhereherlord，herCaptainJohn，battledsobravelyastosendhisnamethrillingdownthroughthebloodofgenerationsofschoolboys。