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“Oh’afewdaysago。“
“Howlongy’goin’t’stay？“
“Oh，Id’know。Aweek，mebbe。“
Afar-offhalloocamepulsingacrosstheshimmeringair。Theboyscreamed“Dinner!“andwavedhishatwithanansweringwhoop，thenfloppedoffthehorselikeaturtleoffastoneintowater。Hehadthehorseunhookedinaninstant，andhadflunghistoesupoverthehorse’sback，inacttoclimbon，whenRobsaid：
“H’yare，youngfeller!wa!taminute。Tired？“heaskedthegirlwithatonethatwasmorethankindly；itwasalmosttender。
“Yes，“sherepliedinalowvoice。“Myshoeshurtme。“
“Well，herey’go，“hereplied，takinghisstandbythehorseandholdingouthishandlikeastep。Shecoloredandsmiledalittleassheliftedherfootintohishuge，hard，sunburnedhand。
“Oop-a-daisy!“hecalled。Shegaveaspringandsatthehorselikeoneathomethere。
Robhadadeliciouslyunconscious，abstracted，businesslikeair。Hereallylefthernothingtodobutenjoyhiscompany，whilehewentaheadanddidpreciselyashepleased。
“Wedon’traisemuchcornoutthere，an’soIkindo’liketoseeitoncemore。“
“IwishIdidn’thavetoseeanotherhillofcornaslongasIlive!“
repliedthegirlbitterly。
“Don’tknowasIblameyehabit。But，allthesame，I’mgladyouwasworkinginittoday，“hethoughttohiniseifashewalkedbesideherhorsetowardthehouse。
“Willyoustoptodinner？“sheinquiredbluntly，almostsurmy。Itwasevidentthattherewerereasonswhyshedidn’tmeantopress。
hirnto’。doso。
“YoubetIwill，“hereplied；“thatis，ifyouwantIshould。“
“Youknowhowwelive，“sherepliedevasively。“I’youc’nstandit，why-“Shebrokeoffabruptly。
Yes，herememberedhowtheylivedinthatbig，square，dirty，whiteframehouse。Ithadbeen-threeorfouryearssincehehadbeenillit，butthesmellofthecabbageandonions，thepenetrating，peculiarmixtureofodors，assailedhismemoryassomethingunforgettable。
“IguessI’llstop，“hesaidasshehesitated。Shesaidnomore，buttriedtoactasifshewerenotinanywayresponsibleforwhatcameafterward。
“IguessIc’nstandfronemealwhatyoustandallthewhile，“headded。
Assheleftthematthewellandwenttothehouse，hesawherlimppainfully，andthememoryofherfacesoclosetohis1ipsashehelpedherdownfromthehorsegavehimpleasure，atthesametimethathewastouchedbyitstiredandgloomylook。Mrs。
Petersoncametothedoorofthekitchen，lookingjustthesameasever。Broadfaced，unwieldly，flabby，apparentlywearingthesamedressherememberedtohaveseenherinyearsbeforeadirtydrab-coloredthing-shelookedasshapelessasasackofwool。HerEnglishwaslimitedto“Howdedo，Rob？“
Hewashedatthepump，whilethegirl，intheattempttobehospitable，heldthecleantowelforhim。
“You’repurtywellusedup，eh？“hesaidtoher。
“Yes；it’sawfulhotoutthere。“
“Can’tyoulayoffthisafternoon？Itain’tright“
“No。Hewon’tlistentothat。“
“Well，letmetakeyourplace。“
“No；thereain’tanyuseo’that。“
Peterson，abrawnywide-beardedNorwegian，cameupatthismomentandspoketoRobinasullen，gruffway“Heain’tverygladtoseeme，“saidRob，winkingatJulia。“Heain’tb’ilin’overwithenthusiasm；butIc’nstandit，foryoursake，“headdedwithamazingassurance；butthegirlhadturnedaway，anditwaswasted。
Atthetableheateheartilyofthe“beanswaagen，“whichfilledalargewoodenbowlinthecenterofthetable，andwhichwasladledintosmallerwoodenbowlsateachplate。JuliahadtriedhardtoconverthermothertoYankeeways，andhadatlastgivenitupindespair。Robkeptonsafesubjects，mainlyaskingquestionsabouttheitcomest’workin’outdoorsinthedirtan’hotsun，gettin’allsunburnedandchappedup，it’sanotherthing。An’thenitseemsasifhegetsstingier’n’stingiereveryyear。Iain’thadanewdressin-I
d’-know-how-long。Hesaysit’sallnonsense，an’Mother’sjustaboutasbad。Shedon’twantanewdress，an’soshethinksIdon’t。“Thegirlwasfeelingtheinfluenceofasympatheticlistenerandwasmakingupforherlongsilence。“I’vetriedt’gooutt’work，buttheywon’tletme。They’dhavet’payahandtwentydollarsamonthf’rtheworkIdo，an’theylikecheaphelp；butI’mnotgoin’t’standitmuchlonger，Icantellyouthat。“
Robthoughtshewasyeryhandsomeasshesattherewithhereyesfixedonthehorizon，whiletheserebelliousthoughtsfoundutteranceinherquivering，passionatevoice。
“Yulie!Komheat!“roaredtheoldmanfromthewell。Afrownofangerandpaincameintoherface。ShelookedatRob。“Thatmeansmorework。“
“Say!letmegooutinyourplace。Come，now；what’stheuse-“
“No；itwouldn’tdonogood。Itain’tt’days’much；it’severyday，and-“
“Yulie!“calledPetersonagainwithastringofimpatientNorwegian。
“Well，allright，onlyI’dliketo“
“Well，goodbye，“shesaid，withalittletouchoffeeling。“Whend’yegoback？“
“Idon’tknow。I’llseey’againbeforeIgo。Goodbye。“Hestoodwatchingherslow，painfulpacetillshereachedthewell，whereOttowasstandingwiththehorse。Hestoodwatchingthemastheymovedoutintotheroadandturneddowntowardthefield。Hefeltthatshehadsenthimaway；butstilltherewasalookinhereyeswhichwasnotaltogether-
Hegaveitupindespairatlast。Hewasnotgoodatanalysesofthisnature；hewasusedtoplain，bluntexpressions。Therewasawoman’ssubtletyherequitebeyondhisreach。
HesaunteredslowlyoffuptheroadafterhistalkwithJulia。Hisheadwaslowonhisbreast；hewasthinkingasonewhoisabouttotakeadecidedandimportantstep。
Hestoppedatlength，andturning，watchedthegirlmovingalonginthedeepsofthecorn。Hardlyaleafwasstirring；theuntemperedsunlightfellinaburningflooduponthefield；thegrasshoppersrose，snapped，buzzed，andfell；thelocustuttereditsdry，heat-intensifvingcry。Themanliftedhishead。
“It’sad-nshame!“hesaid，beginningrapidlytoretracehissteps。
Hestoodleaningonthefence，awaitingthegirl’scomingverymuchasshehadwaitedhisontheroundhehadmadebeforedinner。Hegrewimpatientattheslowgaitofthehorseanddrummedontheirrailwhilehewhistled。Thenhetookoffhishatanddusteditnervously。Asthehorsegotalittlenearerhewipedhisfacecarefully，pushedhishatbackonhishead，andclimbedoverthefence，wherehestoodwithelbowsonthemiddlerailasthegirlandboyandhorsecametotheendofthefurrow。
“Hot，ain’tit？“hesaidasshelookedup。
“JimminyPeters，it’sawful!“puffedtheboy。Thegirldidnotreplytrnsheswungtheplowaboutafterthehorse，andsetituprightintothenextrow。Herpowerfulbodyhadasuperbswayingmotionatthewaistasshedidthis-amotionwhichaffectedRobvaguelybutmassively。
“Ithoughtyou’dgone，“shesaidgravely，pushinghackherbonnettrnhecouldseeherfacedewedwithsweatandpinkasarose。Shehadthehighcheekbonesofherrace，butshehadalsotheirexquisitefairessofcolor。
“Say，Otto，“askedRoballuringiy，“wan’togoswimming？“
“Youbet!“repliedOtto。
“Well，I’llgoaroundif-“
Theboydroppedoffthehorse，notwaitingtohearanymore。Robgrinned；butthegirldroppedhereyes，thenlookedaway。
“Gotrido’himmightyquick。Say，Julyie，Ihatelikethundert’seeyououthere；itain’tright。Iwishyou’d-Iwish-“
Shecouldnotlookathimnow，andherbosomroseandfellwithamotionthatwasnotduetofatigue。Hermoisthairmattedaroundherforeheadgaveheraboyishlook。
Robnervouslytriedagain，tearingsplintersfromthefence。“Say，now，I’lltellyehwhatIcamebackherefer-t’gitmarried；andifyou’rewillin’，I’lldoittonight。Come，now，whaddyy’say？“
“What’veIgott’do’boutit？“shefinallyasked，thecolorfloodingherfaceandafaintsmilecomingtoherlips。“Goahead。Iain’tgotanything-“
Robputasplinterinhismouthandfacedher。“Oh，lookyhere，now，Julyie!youknowwhatImean。I’vegotagoodclaimoutnearBoomtown-arattlin’goodclaim；ashantyonitfourteenbysixteen-notarredpaperaboutit；andasullertokeepbutterin；andahundredacreswheatjustaboutreadytoturnnow。Ineedawife。“
Herehestraightenedup，threwawaythesplinter，andtookoffhishat。Hewasaverypleasantfigureasthegirlstolealookathim。
Hisblacklaughingeyeswereespeciallyearnestjustnow。Hisvoicehadatouchofpleading。Thepoppletreeovertheirheadsmurmuredapplauseathiseloquence，thenhushedtolisten。A
clouddroppedasilentshadowdownuponthem，anditsentalittlethrilloffearthroughRob，asifitwereanomenoffailure。Asthegirlremainedsilent，lookingaway，hebegan，man-fashion，todesirehermoreandmoreashefearedtoloseher。Heputhishatonthepostagainandtookouthisjackknife。Hercalicodressdrapedhersuppleandpowerfulfiguresimplybutnaturally。Thestoopinhershoulders，givenbylabor，disappearedasshepartlyleaneduponthefence。Thecurvesofhermusculararmsshowedthroughhersleeve。
“It’sall-firedlonesomefrmeoutthereonthatclaim，anditain’tnopicnicf’ryouhere。Now，ifyou’llcomeouttherewithme，youneedn’tdoanythingbutcookf’rme，andafterharvestwecangitagoodlayouto’furniture，an’I’lllathandplasterthehouse，an’putalittlehell[ell]intherear。“Hesmiled，andsodidshe。Hefeltencouragedtosay：“An’therewebe，assnugasy’please。We’recloset’Boomtown，an’wecangodowntheretochurchsociablesan’things，andthey’reajollylotthere。“
Thegirlwasstillsilent，buttheman’ssimpleenthusiasmcametoherchargedwithpassionandasortofromancesuchasherhardlifehadknownlittleof。TherewassomethingenticingaboutthistriptotheWest。
“What’limyfolkssay？“shesaidatlast。
Avirtualsurrender，butRobwasnotacuteenoughtoseeit。Hepressedoneagerly：
“Idon’tcare。Doyou？They’lljestkeepy’plowin’cornandmilkin’
cowstillthedayofjudgment。Come，Julyie，Iain’tgotnotimetofoolaway。I’vegott’getbackt’thatgrain。It’sawhoopin’oldcrop，sure’sy’rborn，an’thatmeanssom’pin’purtyscrumptiousinfurniturethisfall。Come，now。“HeapproachedherandlaidhishandonhershoulderverymuchashewouldhavetouchedAlbertSeagravesoranyothercomrade。“Whadyy’say？“
Sheneitherstarted，norshrunk，norlookedathim。Shesimplymovedastepaway。“They’dneverletmege，“sherepliedbitterly。
“I’mtoocheapahand。Idoaman’sworkan’getnopayatall。“
“You’llhavehalfo’allIc’nmake，“heputin。
“Howlongc’nyouwait？“sheasked，lookingdownatherdress。
“Justtwominutes，“hesaid，pullingouthiswatch。“Itain’tnouset’
wait。Theoldman’libejestasmadaweekfromnowasheistoday。whynotgonow？“
“I’mofagedayaftertomorrow，“shemused，wavering，calculating。
“Youc’nbeofagetonightifyou’lljestcallonoldSquareHatfieldwithme。“
“Allright，Rob，“thegirlsaid，turningandholdingoutherhand。
“That’sthetalk!“heexclaimed，seizingit。“An’nowakiss，tobindthebargain，asthefellahsays。“
“Iguesswec’ngetalongwithoutthat。“
“No，wecan’t。Itwon’tseemlikeanengagementwithoutit。“
“Itain’tgoin’toseemmuchlikeoneanyway，“sheansweredwithasuddenrealizationofhowfarfromherdreamsofcourtshipthisrealitywas。
“Say，now，Julyie，thatain’tfair；itain’ttreatin’meright。Youdon’tseemtounderstandthatIlikeyou，butIdo。“
Robwascarriedquiteoutofhimselfbythetime，theplace，andthegirl。Hehadsaidaverymovingthing。
Thetearsspranginvoluntarilytothegirl’seyes。“Doyoumeanit？
Ify’do，youmay。“
Shewastremblingwithemotionforthefirsttime。Thesincerityoftheman’svoicehadgonedeep。
