The missionaries were both under forty, and good, honest men,
devoted to the work which had engrossed them for years. Although
they were ardent lovers, certainly they were not picturesque. Two
homelier men could hardly have been found. Moreover, the sacrifice
of their lives to missionary work had taken them far from the
companionship of women of their own race, so that they lacked the
ease of manner which women like to see in men. Young and Edwards
were awkward, almost uncouth. Embarrassment would not have done
justice to their state of feeling while basking in the shine of
Kate's quiet smile. They were happy, foolish, and speechless.
If Kate shared in the merriment of the others--Heckewelder could not
conceal his, and Nell did not try very hard to hide hers--she never
allowed a suspicion of it to escape. She kept the easy, even tenor
of her life, always kind and gracious in her quaint way, and
precisely the same to both her lovers. No doubt she well knew that
each possessed, under all his rough exterior, a heart of gold.
One day the genial Heckewelder lost, or pretended to lose, his
patience.
"Say, you worthy gentlemen are becoming ornamental instead of
useful. All this changing of coats, trimming of mustaches, and
eloquent sighing doesn't seem to have affected the young lady.
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