They were some kind of cousins of the landlady and
the same name, so they used to come and see her of evenings and Sundays.
Her name was Kate Morrison and her sister's was Jeanie. This and a lot
more she told me before we got back to the hotel, where she said she was
going to stay that night and keep Mrs. Morrison company.

After this we began to be a deal better acquainted. It all came easy
enough. The landlady thought she was doing the girls a good turn by
putting them in the way of a couple of hard-working well-to-do fellows
like us; and as Jim and the younger one, Jeanie, seemed to take a fancy
to each other, Mrs. Morrison used to make up boating parties, and we
soon got to know each other well enough to be joked about falling in
love and all the rest of it.

After a bit we got quite into the way of calling for Kate and Jeanie
after their day's work was done, and taking them out for a walk. I don't
know that I cared so much for Kate in those days anyhow, but by degrees
we got to think that we were what people call in love with each other.
It went deeper with her than me, I think. It mostly does with women. I
never really cared for any woman in the world except Gracey Storefield,
but she was far away, and I didn't see much likelihood of my being able
to live in that part of the world, much less to settle down and marry
there. So, though we'd broken a six-pence together and I had my half,
I looked upon her as ever so much beyond me and out of my reach, and
didn't see any harm in amusing myself with any woman that I might happen
to fall across.

So, partly from idleness, partly from liking, and partly seeing that the
girl had made up her mind to throw in her lot with me for good and all,
I just took it as it came; but it meant a deal more than that, if I
could have foreseen the end.

I hadn't seen a great many women, and had made up my mind that, except
a few bad ones, they was mostly of one sort--good to lead, not hard to
drive, and, above all, easy to see through and understand.

I often wonder what there was about this Kate Morrison to make her so
different from other women; but she was born unlike them, I expect.
Anyway, I never met another woman like her. She wasn't out-and-out
handsome, but there was something very taking about her. Her figure
was pretty near as good as a woman's could be; her step was light and
active; her feet and hands were small, and she took a pride in showing
them. I never thought she