Part One, Chapter Five: A Better Pencil Summary

After he first met Miss Day, March decided that he wanted to court her. He knew that this would be difficult since they lived in different counties, so he moved in with his uncle under the pretext of exploring local business. Believing that March was truly interested in business, he put him in touch with a local pencil maker, John Thoreau, and his son, Henry. Henry's brother had died recently, putting him in full partnership with his father in the pencil-making business, even though it didn't really interest Henry. The only thing Henry seemed to enjoy was finding ways to improve the pencil. In his spare time, Henry liked to be alone in nature, walking through the woods and fishing in the streams. This is often where March would bump into him, and the two...