Watching anyone was a far more congenial task to the child than learning the
Commandments, and she hastened to comply. Moreover, she had the strongest
curiosity in regard to Holcroft herself. She felt that he was the arbiter of
her fate. So untaught was she that delicacy and tact were unknown qualities.
Her one hope of pleasing was in work. She had no power of guessing that sly
espionage would counterbalance such service. Another round of visiting was
dreaded above all things; she was, therefore, exceedingly anxious about the
future. "Mother may be right," she thought. "P'raps she can make him marry
her, so we needn't go away any more. P'raps she's taken the right way to
bring a man around and get him hooked, as Cousin Lemuel said. If I was goin'
to hook a man though, I'd try another plan than mother's. I'd keep my mouth
shut and my eyes open. I'd see what he wanted and do it, even 'fore he spoke.
'Fi's big anuf I bet I could hook a man quicker'n she can by usin' her tongue
'stead of her hands."

Jane's scheme was not so bad a one but that it might be tried to advantage by
those so disposed. Her matrimonial prospects, however, being still far in the
future, it behooved her to make her present existence as tolerable as
possible. She knew how much depended on Holcroft, and was unaware of any
other method of learning his purposes except that of watching him. Both
fearing and fascinated, she dogged his steps most of the afternoon, but saw
nothing to confirm her mother's view that any spell was working. She scarcely
understood why he looked so long at field, thicket, and woods, as if he saw
something invisible to her.

In planning future work and improvements, the farmer had attained a quieter
and more genial frame of mind. "When, therefore, he sat down and in glancing
about saw Jane crouching behind a low hemlock, he was more amused than
irritated. He had dwelt on his own interests so long that he was ready to
consider even Jane's for a while. "Poor child!" he thought, "she doesn't know