nothing that suggested coquetry in the faint amusement she displayed;
this was a girl with some depth of character, though he realized that
she was pretty. She carried herself well; she was finely and strongly
made; her gray eyes were searching; and she had a rather commanding
manner. Her hair was a warm brown, clustering low on a smooth
forehead; nose and lips and chin were firmly molded.

"Yes," he answered candidly; "I'm feeling the strangeness of the
country, and I've an idea that both George and I may need friends in
it. It strikes me that you and your father would prove useful ones."

"Well," she said, "he's sometimes called hard, and he's a little
prejudiced on certain points, but he can be very staunch to those he
takes a liking to."

"I believe," Edgar rejoined, "that also applies to you; I don't mean
the first of it."

Flora changed the subject.

"I gather that you're not favorably impressed with the place."

"I'm not. If I had to farm it, I'd feel scared; and I don't think
George is happy. It's hard to understand how Marston let it get into
such a state."

"He was unfitted for the work, and he was further handicapped."

"How?" Edgar asked.