leading into the woods, from the bridge, where she sat on a log,
and for the unnumbered time, reviewed her problem. She had worked
ever since she could remember. Never in her life had she gotten
to school before noon on Monday, because of the large washings.
After the other work was finished she had spent nights and
mornings ironing, when she longed to study, seldom finishing
before Saturday. Summer brought an endless round of harvesting,
canning, drying; winter brought butchering, heaps of sewing, and
postponed summer work. School began late in the fall and closed
early in spring, with teachers often inefficient; yet because she
was a close student and kept her books where she could take a peep
and memorize and think as she washed dishes and cooked, she had
thoroughly mastered all the country school near her home could
teach her. With six weeks of a summer Normal course she would be
as well prepared to teach as any of her sisters were, with the
exception of Mary, who had been able to convince her parents that
she possessed two college years' worth of "ability."

Kate laid no claim to "ability," herself; but she knew she was as
strong as most men, had an ordinary brain that could be trained,
and while she was far from beautiful she was equally as far from
being ugly, for her skin was smooth and pink, her eyes large and
blue-gray, her teeth even and white. She missed beauty because
her cheekbones were high, her mouth large, her nose barely
escaping a pug; but she had a real "crown of glory" in her hair,
which was silken fine, long and heavy, of sunshine-gold in colour,
curling naturally around her face and neck. Given pure blood to
paint such a skin with varying emotions, enough wind to ravel out
a few locks of such hair, the proportions of a Venus and perfect
health, any girl could rest very well assured of being looked at