The rough-and-ready travelling suit, stout boots, brown face, and
manly beard, changed him so much, that Polly could find scarcely
a trace of elegant Tom Shaw in the hearty-looking young man who
stood with one foot on a chair, while he talked business to his
father in a sensible way, which delighted the old gentleman. Polly
liked the change immensely, and sat listening to the state of
Western trade with as much interest as if it had been the most
thrilling romance, for, as he talked, Tom kept looking at her with a
nod or a smile so like old times, that for a little while, she forgot
Maria Bailey, and was in bliss.
By and by Fanny came flying in, and gave Tom a greater surprise
than his had been. He had not the least suspicion of what had been
going on at home, for Fan had said to herself, with girlish malice,
"If he don't choose to tell me his secrets, I 'm not going to tell
mine," and had said nothing about Sydney, except an occasional
allusion to his being often there, and very kind.
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