CHAPTER IVThere was something grave and reassuring about the young man’s voice which made her trust him. She wondered if she ought to tell him her situation? It was against all her upbringing and principles to confide her troubles to a stranger, especially a man, and a young one; yet she sorely needed advice, and she needn’t take it if she didn’t like it.
“You’re very kind, Mr. Granniss,” she said at length in a quaintly formal tone. “But I’m not staying anywhere. I’ve just come today. I’m Miss Custer of Virginia—” there was something in the sweet dignity with which she spoke the name that demanded respect. It seemed to summon the long line of noble Custers to speak for her in this informal introduction.
The color swept into Jud’s face, and for a moment he felt almost as if he had presum
