THE APPLE TREE GIRL
practically everything he could offer them; but it was all so new to Charlotte, and the interest she felt showed in her cheeks and her eyes—a heartborn glow and sparkle which did him good to see.
"If he hadn't been 'courted to death,' as Mr. Ogilvie says," murmured Charlotte rather breathlessly one night, "I do believe I'd have a chance. But I must never let him dream that I care for him the least little bit, or he'll think I'm just like all the others."
So, half consciously and half instinctively, whenever Perry showed his growing liking for her, she drew back; and the more she drew back, the more he pressed forward in his pursuit of a new experience; and the more he pressed forward, the longer Charlotte lay awake when the rest of the household were asleep, thinking things over in her sage, old-fashioned way.
"I wish he didn't have that tired look
123
