Barkman even to get down; he was to go right off at once, but when he
returned she'd meet him. With a grave respectful bow he lifted his hat,
and drove away. On the whole, he had reason to be proud of his
diplomacy; reason, too, for saying to himself that at last he had got on
"the inside track." Still, all the factors in the problem were not seen
even by his keen eyes.

The next morning, Loo began to reflect upon what she should do. It did
not occur to her that she had somewhat compromised herself with the
lawyer by giving him leave, and, in fact, encouragement to expect a
favourable answer. She was so used to looking at all affairs from the
point of view of her own self-interest and satisfaction, that such an
idea did not even enter her head. She simply wanted to decide on what
was best for herself. She considered the matter as it seemed to her,
from all sides, without arriving at any decision. Barkman was kind, and
good to her; but she didn't care for him, and she loved George still.
Oh, why wasn't he like the other, always sympathetic and admiring? She
sat and thought. In the depths of her nature she felt that she couldn't
give George up, couldn't make up her mind to lose him; and why should
she, since they loved each other? What could she do?

Of a sudden she paused. She remembered how, more than a year before, she
had been invited to Eureka for a ball. She had stayed with her friend
Miss Jennie Blood; by whose advice and with whose help she had worn for
the first time a low-necked dress. She had been uncomfortable in it at
first, very uncomfortable, but the men liked it, all of them. She had
seen their admiration in their eyes; as Jennie had said, it fetched
them. If only George could see her in a low-necked dress--she flushed as
she thought of it--perhaps he'd admire her, and then she'd be quite
happy. But there were never any balls or parties in this dead-and-alive