Not that I took the world into my confidence ; that was never the Douglas way , and I held myself in honor bound to live up to the family traditions . I thought , then , that nobody but Sara knew ; but I dare say , now , that Jack knew it also , for I do n't think Sara could have helped telling him . If he did know , however , he did not let me see that he did , and never insulted me by any implied sympathy ; on the contrary , he asked me to be his best man . Jack was always a thoroughbred . I was best man . Jack and I had always been bosom friends , and , although I had lost my sweetheart , I did not intend to lose my friend into the bargain . Sara had made a wise choice , for Jack was twice the man I was ; he had had to work for his living , which perhaps accounts for it . So I danced at Sara 's wedding as if my heart were as light as my heels ; but , after she and Jack had settled down at Glenby I closed The Maples and went abroad ... being , as I have hinted , one of those unfortunate mortals who need consult nothing but their own whims in the matter of time and money . I stayed away for ten years , during which The Maples was given over to moths and rust , while I enjoyed life elsewhere . I did enjoy it hugely , but always under protest , for I felt that a broken-hearted man ought not to enjoy himself as I did . It jarred on my sense of fitness , and I tried to moderate my zest , and think more of the past than I did . It was no use ; the present insisted on being intrusive and pleasant ; as for the future ... well , there was no future . Then Jack Churchill , poor fellow , died . A year after his death , I went home and again asked Sara to marry me , as in duty bound . Sara again declined , alleging that her heart was buried in Jack 's grave , or words to that effect . I found that it did not much matter ... of course , at thirty-two one does not take these things to heart as at twenty-two . I had enough to occupy me in getting The Maples into working order , and beginning to educate Betty . Betty was Sara 's ten year-old daughter , and she had been thoroughly spoiled . That is to say , she had been allowed her own way in everything and , having inherited her father 's outdoor tastes , had simply run wild . She was a thorough tomboy , a thin , scrawny little thing with a trace of Sara 's beauty .
Betty took after her father 's dark , tall race and , XXXXX the occasion of my first introduction to her , seemed to be all legs and neck .
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