“Howbeautiful！howIloveit！“whisperedthegirl“But，oh，howbigitis！“Andsheleanedagainstherloverforaninstant。Itwasherspiritseekingshelter。To-day，thisvastbeauty，thisprimalcalm，hadinitforhersomethingalmostofdread。Thesmall，comfortable，greenhillsofhomerosebeforeher。SheclosedhereyesandsawVermont。avillagestreet，andthepost-office，andIvycoveringanoldfrontdoor，andhermotherpickingsomeyellowrosesfromabush。
Atasound，hereyesquicklyopened；andherewasherloverturnedinhissaddle，watchinganotherhorsemanapproach。ShesawtheVirginian’shandinacertainposition，andknewthathispistolwasready。Buttheothermerelyovertookandpassedthem，astheystoodatthebrowofthehill。
ThemanhadgivenonenodtotheVirginian，andtheVirginianonetohim；andnowhewasalreadybelowthemonthedescendingroad。
ToMollyWoodhewasastranger；butshehadseenhiseyeswhenhenoddedtoherlover，andsheknew，evenwithoutthepistol，thatthiswasnotenmityatfirstsight。Itwasnotindeed。Fiveyearsofgatheredhatehadlookedoutoftheman’seyes。Andsheaskedherloverwhothiswas。
“Oh，“saidhe，easily，“justamanIseenowandthen。“