Poor Hick , bereft of career , living in a perpetual state of low-intensity jiltedness ( Miss you so much , runs the typical Eleanor letter , but you 'd hate it here so don 't come ) , traveling the barrooms of the country as Eleanor 's eyes and ears , remains for me the hero of the book .
Although Eleanor longs for Hick 's company , she did not wish him to join her , for she knew he would be unhappy .