And he liked it
all. Especially he liked the swell of her forearm, which rose firm and
strong and tantalizing and sought shelter all too quickly under the
loose-flowing sleeve.
The co-ordination of physical with spiritual beauty is very strong in
normal men, and so it was with Vance Corliss. That he liked the one
was no reason that he failed to appreciate the other. He liked Frona
for both, and for herself as well. And to like, with him, though he
did not know it, was to love.
CHAPTER IX
Vance Corliss proceeded at a fair rate to adapt himself to the
Northland life, and he found that many adjustments came easy. While
his own tongue was alien to the brimstone of the Lord, he became quite
used to strong language on the part of other men, even in the most
genial conversation. Carthey, a little Texan who went to work for him
for a while, opened or closed every second sentence, on an average,
with the mild expletive, "By damn!" It was also his invariable way of
expressing surprise, disappointment, consternation, or all the rest of
the tribe of sudden emotions. By pitch and stress and intonation, the
protean oath was made to perform every function of ordinary speech. At
first it was a constant source of irritation and disgust to Corliss,
but erelong he grew not only to tolerate it, but to like it, and to
wait for it eagerly.
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