He could
not have explained the feeling, nor reasoned upon it, but he knew well
enough that when he next met Joe it would be on new terms. She had
declared herself his friend in a way no longer mistakable, for she must
have followed her first impulse in writing such a note, and the impulse
must have been a strong one.
For a while he debated whether to answer the note or not, almost
forgetting his troubles in the tumult of new thoughts it had suggested to
him. A note, thought he, required an answer, on general principles--but
such a note as this would be better answered in person than by any pen and
paper. He would call and see Joe, and thank her for it. But, again, he
knew he could not see her until the next day, and that seemed a long time
to wait. It would not have been long under ordinary circumstances, but in
this case it seemed to him an unreasonable delay. He sat down and took a
pen in his fingers.
"Dear Miss Thorn"--he began, and stopped. In America it is more formal to
begin without the preliminary "my;" in England the "my" is indispensable,
unless people are on familiar terms.
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