rejected the impulse. Time and his own desires
were pressing.

"Oh, I guess she'll marry some fellow some day. Maybe he'll be good
enough----"

"And more than likely he won't." Elvine's reply was emphatic. She
suddenly sat forward in the deep rocker, and a great earnestness shone
in her eyes. "I tell you no woman in this life has a right to be as
'pretty' as you believe her to be," she said with intense bitterness.
"If I had my way every girl would be taught to reason for herself on
those things in life which make for her well-being. I'd make her think
that way before everything else. To me it is the direst cruelty of
Providence that we should be left to become the prey of our own
emotions, and at the mercy of any man of whatever quality who can
sufficiently stir them. Maybe you do not agree to that. But just
think of the awful position that every wretched, physically feeble
woman stands in in the life about her. I tell you no girl on her own
resources has much better than a dog's chance of getting through life
without disaster. Our emotions are the most absurdly foolish type it
is possible to think of. I guess we can do things with our normal
reason which would shame a whole asylum of crazy folk who can't be let
run around free. Oh, I'd like to know her better, to tell her, to warn
her. I don't guess I've ever done good in the world, but I'd like to.
If I could save one of my sex from some of the pitfalls lying around,
maybe I'd feel I'd been some use."

"Why not know her better? Say, Nan's no end of a good sort. She'd be
real glad."

Jeff's invitation sounded lame, even to himself. But he was struggling
under an emotion that made words difficult.

Elvine laughed.

"Would she? I wonder."

Then she hurried on lest her observation should be interpreted.

"And you're going to quit our city to-morrow for your wonderful ranch.
I guess the Cattle Week's liable to bore folks who've real work in the
world--like you. It's just a week of show, and glitter, and ceremony,
all those things which have no real place in the world of things that
matter. But there, after all, I wonder what are the things that
matter. And do they matter anyway? We have no guide. We're just left
to grope around and search for ourselves, and every folk's ideas are
different from every other folk's. I'm restless. I sort of feel
there's so much to be done in the world--if we only knew how, and what."

The half-bantering m