n't
think the wideness of the sky, and I couldn't paint it for you with
words. You must see it to understand. A great, wide, dark sapphire
floor just simply ravished with stars like big jewels!

But I must stop and go to bed, for I find the air of this country
makes me very sleepy, and my wicked little kerosene-lamp is
smoking. I guess you would better send me my student-lamp, after
all, for I'm surely going to need it.

Now I must turn out the light and say good night to my mountain,
and then I will go to sleep thinking of you. Don't worry about the
minister. I'm very polite to him, but I shall never--_no,
never_--fall in love with _him_--tell Jane.

Your loving little girl,
MARGARET.

CHAPTER VIII

Margaret had arranged with Bud to take her to the school-house the next
morning, and he had promised to have a horse hitched up and ready at ten
o'clock, as it seemed the school was a magnificent distance from her
boarding-place. In fact, everything seemed to be located with a view to
being as far from everywhere else as possible. Even the town was
scattering and widespread and sparse.

When she came down to breakfast she was disappointed to find that Bud
was not there, and she was obliged to suffer a breakfast tete-a-tete
with West. By dint, however, of asking him questions instead of allowing
him to take the initiative, she hurried through her breakfast quite
successfully, acquiring a superficial knowledge of her fellow-boarder
quite distant and satisfactory. She knew where he spent his college days
and at what theological seminary he had prepared for the ministry. He
had served three years in a prosperous church of a fat little suburb of
New York, and was taking a winter off from his severe, strenuous
pastoral labors to recuperate his strength, get a new stock of sermons
ready, and possibly to write a book of some of his experiences. He
flattened his weak, pink chin learnedly as he said this, and tried to
look at her impressively. He said that he should probably take a large
city church as his next pastorate when his health was fully recuperated.
He had come out to study the West and enjoy its freedom, as he
understood it was a good place to rest and do as you please unhampered
by what people thought. He wanted to get as far away from churches and
thing