`` But she would n't let you -- she pushed you off and kept you at arm 's length . Poor Leslie ! You would n't be much surprised if you knew what her life has been . It 's been a tragedy -- a tragedy ! '' repeated Miss Cornelia emphatically . `` I wish you would tell me all about her -- that is , if you can do so without betraying any confidence . '' `` Lord , dearie , everybody in Four Winds knows poor Leslie 's story . It 's no secret -- the OUTSIDE , that is . Nobody knows the INSIDE but Leslie herself , and she does n't take folks into her confidence . I 'm about the best friend she has on earth , I reckon , and she 's never uttered a word of complaint to me . Have you ever seen Dick Moore ? '' `` No . '' `` Well , I may as well begin at the beginning and tell you everything straight through , so you 'll understand it . As I said , Leslie 's father was Frank West . He was clever and shiftless -- just like a man . Oh , he had heaps of brains -- and much good they did him ! He started to go to college , and he went for two years , and then his health broke down . The Wests were all inclined to be consumptive . So Frank came home and started farming . He married Rose Elliott from over harbor .
Rose was reckoned the beauty of Four Winds -- XXXXX takes her looks from her mother , but she has ten times the spirit and go that Rose had , and a far better figure .
Cornelia Elliott Leslie Moore Nobody West Wests Winds confidence years