第15章

Seagraves，animpressionableyoungman(junioreditoroftheBoomtownSpike)，threwhimselfdownonthesod，pulledhishatrimdownoverhiseyes，andlookedawayovertheplain。ItwasthesecondyearofBoom-town’sexistence，andSeagraveshadnotyetgrownrestlessunderitsmonotony。Aroundhimthegophersplayedsaucily。Teamsweremovinghereandthereacrossthesod，withapeculiarnoiseless，effortlessmotionthatmadethemseemascalm，lazy，andunsubstantialasthemistthroughwhichtheymadetheirway；eventhesoundofpassingwagonswasasortoflow，well-fed，self-satisfiedchuckle。

Seagraves，“holdingdownaclaim“nearRob，hadcometoseehisneighboring“bach“becauseoffeelingtheneedofcompany；butnowthathewasnearenoughtohearhimprancingaboutgettingsupper，hewascontenttoliealoneonaslopeofthegreensod。

Thesilenceoftheprairieatnightwaswell-nighterrible。Manyanight，asSeagraveslayinhisbunkagainstthesideofhiscabin，hewouldstrainhiseartoheartheslightestsound，andhelisteningthussometimesforminutesbeforethesqueakofamouseorthestepofapassingfoxcameasarelieftotheachingsense。Inthedaytime，however，andespeciallyonamorning，theprairiewasanotherthing。Thepigeons，thelarks；thecranes，themultitudinousvoicesofthegroundbirdsandsnipesandinsects，madetheairpulsatewithsound-achorusthatdiedawayintoaninfinitemurmurofmusic。

“Hello，Seagraves!“yelledRobfromthedoor。“Thebiscuitare’mostdone。“

Seagravesdidnotspeak，onlynoddedhisheadandslowlyrose。

Thefaintcloudsinthewestweregettingasuperbflamecoloraboveandamistypurplebelow，andthesunhadshotthemwithlancesofyellowlight。Astheairgrewdenserwithmoisture，thesoundsofneighboringlifebegantoreachtheear。Childrenscreamedandlaughed，andafaroffawomanwassingingalullaby。

Therattleofwagonsandvoicesofmenspeakingtotheirteamsmultiplied。Ducksinaneighboringlowlandwerequacking。ThewholescenetookholduponSeagraveswithirresistiblepower。

“ItisAmerican，“heexclaimed。’Nootherlandortimecanmatchthismellowair，thiswealthofcolor，muchlessthestrangesocialconditionsoflifeonthissunlitDakotaprairie。“

Rob，thoughvisiblyaffectedbythescenealso，couldn’tlethisbiscuitspoilorgowithoutproperattention。

“Say，ain’ty’comin’t’grub？“heaskedimpatiently。

“Thaminute，“repliedhisfriend，takingalastwistfullookatthescene。“Iwantonemorelookatthelandscape。“

“Landscapebeblessed!Ifyou’dbeenbreakin’allday-Come，takethatstoolan’drawup。“

“No；I’lltakethecandlebox。“

“Notmuch。Iknowwhatmannersare，ifIamabulldriver。“

Seagravestookthethree-leggedandratherprecarious-lookingstoolanddrewuptothetable，whichwasaflatbroadboxnailedupagainstthesideofthewall，withtwostripsofboardnailedattheoutercornersforlegs。

“How’sthatf’ralayout？“Robinquiredproudly。

“Well，youhavespreadyourself!Biscuitandcannedpeachesandsardinesandcheese。why，thisis-is-prodigal。“

“Itain’tnothin’else。“

RobwasfromoneofthefinestcountiesofWisconsin，overtowardMilwaukee。HewasofGermanparentage，amiddle-sized，cheery，wide-awake，good-lookingyoungfellow-atypicalclaimholder。Hewasalwaysconfident，jovial，andfullofplansforthefuture。Hehaddughisownwell，builthisownshanty，washedandmendedhisownclothing。Hecoulddoanything，anddoitwell。Hehadafinefieldofwheat，andwasfinishingtheplowingofhisentirequartersection。

“ThisiswhatIcallsettin’underafeller’sownvinean’figtree“-afterSeagraves’scompliments-“an’Ilikeit。I’mmyownboss。

Nomancansay’comehere’’n’’gothere’tome。IgetupwhenI’mamin’to，an’got’bedwhenI’mamin’t’。“

“Somedrawbacks，Is’pose？“

“Yes。Mice，f’rinstance，givemeadevilishloto’trouble。Theygetintomyflourbarrel，eatupmycheese，an’fallintomywell。Butitain’tnouset’swear。“

“TheratsandthemlcetheymadesuchastrifeHehadtogotoLondontobuyhimawife，“

quotedSeagraves。“Don’tblush。I’veprobedyoursecretthought。“

“Well，totellthehonesttruth，“saidRobalittlesheepishly，leaningacrossthetable，“Iain’tsatisfiedwithmystyleo’cookin’。It’sgood，butalittletooplain，y’know。I’dlikeachange。Itain’tmuchfuntobreakalldayandthengotoworkan’cooky’rownsupper。“

“No，Ishouldsaynot。“

“ThisfallI’mgoingbacktoWisconsin。Girlsarethickashuckleberriesbackthere，andI’mgoin’t’bringoneback，nowyouhearme。“

“Good!That’stheplan，“laughedSeagraves，amusedatacertaintimidandapprehensivelookinhiscompanion’seye。“Justthinkwhatawoman’ddotoputthisshantyinshape；andthinkhowniceitwouldbetotakeherarmandsaunteroutaftersupper，andlookatthefarm，andplanandlayoutgardensandpaths，andtendthechickens!“

Rob’smanlyandself-reliantnaturehadthesettler’stypicalbuoyancyandhopefulness，aswellasacertainpowerofanalysis，whichenabledhimnowtosay：“Thefactis，wefellersholdin’

downclaimsouthereain’tfoolscleartotherine。Weknowacoupleo’things。NowIdidn’tleaveWaupacCountyf’rfun。Didy’

everseeWanpac？Well，it’soneo’thehandsomestcountiesthesunevershoneon，fullo’lakesandriversandgrovesoftimber。Imiss’emallouthere，andImisstheboysan’girls；buttheywa’n’tnochancetheref’rafeller。Landthatwasgoodwassoblamedhighyoucouldn’ttouchitwithaten-footpolefromaballoon。Rentwashigh，ifyouwantedt’rent，an’soafellerlikemehadt’getout，an’

nowI’mouthere，I’mgoin’fmakethemostofit。Anotherthing，“

hewenton，afterapause-“wefellerswork-in’outbacktheregotmore’n’morelikehands，an’lesslikehumanbeings。Y’know，Waupacisakindofasummerresort，andthepeoplethatuse’t’

comeinsummerslookeddownonuscussesinthefieldsan’

shops。Icouldn’tstandit。ByGod!“hesaidwithasuddenimpulseofragequiteunlikehim，“I’dratherliveonanice-bergandclawcrabsf’ralivin’thanhavesomefellerpassin’meontheroadan’

callin’mefellah!’“

Seagravesknewwhathemeantandlistenedinastonishmentatthisoutburst。

“Iconsidermyselfasightbetter’nanymanwholivesonsomebodyelse’shardwork。I’veneverhadacentIdidn’tearnwiththemhands。“Heheldthemupandbrokeintoagrin。“Beauties，ain’tthey？Buttheyneverworeglovesthatsomeotherpoorcussearned。“

Seagravesthoughtthemgrandhands，worthytograspthehandofanymanorwomanliving。

“Well，soIcomeWest，justlikeathousandotherfellers，togetastartwherethecussedEuropeanaristocracyhadn’tgotaholtonthepeople。Ilikeithere-courseI’dlikethelakesan’meadowsofWaupacbetter-butI’mmyownboss，asIsay，an’I’mgoin’tostaymyownbossifIhaftoliveoncrackersan’wheatcoffeetodoit；

that’sthekindofahairpinIam。“

Inthepausewhichfollowed，Seagraves，plungeddeepintothoughtbyRob’swords，leanedhisheadonhishand。Thisworkingfarmerhadvoicedthemodemidea。Itwasanabsoluteoverturnofalltheideasofnobilityandspecialprivilegebornofthefeudalpast。Robhadspokenuponimpulse，butthatimpulseappearedtoSea-gravestoberight。

“I’dliketouseyourideaforaneditorial，Rob，“hesaid。

“Myideas!“exclaimedtheastoundedhost，pausingintheactoffillinghispipe。“Myideas!why，Ididn’tknowIhadany。“

“Well，you’vegivenmesome，anyhow。“

Seagravesfeltthatitwasawild，grandupstirringofthemodemdemocratagainstthearistocratic，againsttheideaofcasteandtheprivilegeoflivingonthelaborofothers。Thisatomofhumanity(howinfinitesimalthisdropintheoceanofhumanity!)wasfeelingthename-lesslongingofexpandingpersonality，andhadalreadypiercedtheconventionsofsocietyanddeclaredasnilthelawsoftheland-lawsthatweresurvivalsofhateandprejudice。Hehadexposedalsothenativespringoftheemigrantbyutteringthefeelingthatitisbettertobeanequalamongpeasantsthanaservantbeforenobles。

“SoIhavegoodreasonsf’rlikingthecountry，“Robresumedinaquietway。“Thesoilisrich，theclimategoodsofar，an’ifIhaveacoupleo’decentcropsyou’llseeaneatuprightgoin’uphere，withaporchandabaywinder。“

“Andyou’llstillbelivin’herealone，fryingleatheryslapjacksan’

choppin’tatersandbacon。“

“IthinkIseemyself，“drawledRob，“goin’aroundallsummerwearin’thesameshirtwithoutwashin’，an’wipin’onthesametowelfourstraightweeks，an’wearin’holesinmysocks，an’eatin’

mustygingersnaps，moldybacon，an’cannedBostonbeansf’rtheresto’myendurin’days!Oh，yes；Iguessnot!Well，seey’later。

Mustgowatermybulls。“

Ashewentoffdowntheslope，Seagravessmiledtohearhimsing：

“IwishthatsomekindheartedgirlWouldpityonmetake，AndextricatemefromthemessI’min。

Theangel-howI’dblessher，lithisherhomeshe’dmake，Inmylittleoldsodshantyontheplain!“

TheboysnearlyfellofftheirchairsintheWesternHousediningroom，afewdayslater，atseeingRobcomeintosupperwithacollarandnecktieasthefinishingtouchofaremarkableoutfit。

“Hithim，somebody!“

“It’sacleancollar!“

“He’sstartedf’rCongress!“

“He’sgoingtogetmarried，“putinSeagravesinatonethatbroughtconviction。

“What!“screamedJackAdams，O’Neill，andWilsoninonebreath。

“Thatman？“

“Thatman，“repliedSeagraves，amazedatRob，whocoollytookhisseat，squaredhiselbows，pressedhiscollardownattheback，andcalledforthebaconandeggs。

Thecrowdstaredathiminadeadsilence。

“Where’shegoingtodoit？“askedJackAdarns。“where’shegoingtofindagirl？“

“Askhim，“saidSeagraves。

“Iain’ttellin’，“putinRob，withhismouthfullofpotato。

“You’reafraidofourcompetition。“

“That’sright；ourcompetition，Jack；notyourcompetition。Come，now，Rob，telluswhereyoufoundher。“

“Iain’tfoundher。“

“What!Andyetyou’regoin’awayt’getmarried!“

“I’mgoin’t’bringawifebackwithmetendaysfr’mdate。“

“Iseehisscheme，“putinJimRivers。“He’sgoin’backEastsomewhere，an’he’sgoin’toproposetoeverygirlhemeets。“

“Holdon!“interruptedRob，holdinguphisfork。“Ain’tquiteright。

Everygood-lookin’girlImeet。“

“Well，I’llbeblanked!“exclaimedJackimpatientiy；“thatsimplyletsmeout。Anymanwithsuchacheekoughtto-“

“Succeed，“interruptedSeagraves。

“That’swhatIsay，“bawledHankwhiting，theproprietorofthehouse。“Youfellersain’tgotanyenterprisetoyeh。Whydon’tyougotoworkan’helpsettlethecountrylikemen？’Causey’ain’tgotnosand。Girlsarethicker’nhuckleberriesbackEast。Isayit’sadumshame!“

“Easy，Henry，“saidtheelegantbankclerk，Wilson，lookinggravelyaboutthroughhisspectacles。“IcommendthecourageandtheresolutionofMr。Rodemaker。Ipraytheladymaynot“Mislikehimforhiscomplexion，Theshadowedliveryoftheburningsun。“

“Shakespeare，“saidAdamsataventure。

“Brotherinadversity，whendoyouembark？Another3asononanuntriedsea~“

“Hay!“saidRob，winkingatSeagraves。“Oh，Igotonight-nighttrain。“

“Andreturn？“

“Tendaysfromdate。“

“I’llwageraweddingsupperhebringsablonde，“saidWilsoninhisclean-cut，languidspeech。