And, on his side, Bob was so carried away by his romance as to have no conception of Jennie’s attitude toward him. Seeing himself as a knight riding to the relief of a damsel in distress, it did not occur to him that the damsel could have a preference as to her deliverer. It was a matter of course that, from the window of the tower in which she was a prisoner, she would drop into his arms. In other words, Bob had his own view of the advantages of being a Collingham. They were great advantages, since they gave him the opportunity of being generous. He was in love with Jennie largely because she was an exquisite object on which to spend himself. She was a gem, not in the rough, and yet in need of polishing, and though his own refinement was not so very great, he could throw refinement in her way. That is to say, love for Bob was very much a matter of giving himself out. Girls who could have brought him everything—and they were not scarce at Marillo Park—didn’t interest him. They left no place for the selflessness which was the basis of his character. He couldn’t precisely be called kind, since kindness implies some deliberation of the will. As the impulse of a fountain is to pour itself out, so Bob’s impulse was to give, while Jennie was a crystal chalice wide open to receive. "I want you to have everything in the world, Jennie darling," he declared, bending above her as lovingly as a bench in the park would permit. "I can’t give it to you right off the bat, worse luck, but sooner or later I’ll be able to dope you out every little wish. Good Lord! How I’ll enjoy it." "What do you mean by sooner or later?" Jennie asked, with eyes downcast. "When I get the family broken to the bit. I can’t tell you in dates or time. They’ll be hard in the mouth at first; and mother pulls like the devil." At this false witness, Jennie was revolted. No one knew better than herself the bigness of that maternal heart which, as early as next week, would give liberal proof of its sincerity, when Bob’s promises would still be in the air. Bob had the afternoon at his disposal. The park offered itself as a delicious trysting place, because it was the month of May. In a nook where lilac and syringa overshadowed them and water glinted between lawns and glades, they sat discreetly side by side, and she permitted him to hold her hand.