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“’M，yes；’m，yes；first-rate，“saidButler，ashiseyetookintheneatgarden，thepig-pen，andthewell-filledbarnyard。“You’regitt’n’
quiteastockaroundyeh。Donewell，eh？“HaskinswasshowingButleraroundtheplace。Hehadnotseenitforayear，havingspenttheyearinWashingtonandBostonwithAshley，hisbrother-in-law，whohadbeenelectedtoCongress。
“Yes，I’velaidoutagooddealofmoneydurin’thelastthreeyears。
I’vepaidoutthreehundreddollarsf’rfencin’。“
“Umh’m!Isee，Isee，“saidButler，whileHaskinswenton：
“Thekitchentherecosttwohundred；thebarnain’tcostmuchinmoney，butI’veputaloto’timeonit。I’veduganewwell，andI——“
“Yes，yes，Isee。You’vedonewell。Stockworthathousanddollars，“saidButler，pickinghisteethwithastraw。
“Aboutthat，“saidHaskins，modestly。“Webegintofeel’sifwewasgitt’n’ahomef’rourselves；butwe’veworkedhard。Itellyouwebegintofeelit，Mr。Butler，andwe’regoin’t’begintoeaseuppurtysoon。We’vebeenkindo’plannin’atripbackt’herfolksafterthefallploughin’sdone。“
“Eggs-actly!“saidButler，whowasevidentlythinkingofsomethingelse。“Isupposeyou’vekindo’calc’latedonstayin’herethreeyearsmore？“
“Well，yes。Factis，IthinkIc’nbuythefarmthisfall，ifyou’llgivemeareasonableshow。“
“Umm!Whatdoyoucallareasonableshow？“
“Well，sayaquarterdownandthreeyears’time。“
Butlerlookedatthehugestacksofwheat，whichfilledtheyard，overwhichthechickenswereflutteringandcrawling，catchinggrasshoppers，andoutofwhichthecricketsweresinginginnumerably。Hesmiledinapeculiarwayashesaid，“Oh，Iwon’tbehardonyeh。Butwhatdidyouexpecttopayf’rtheplace？“
“Why，aboutwhatyouoffereditforbefore，twothousandfivehundred，orpossiblythreethousanddollars，“headdedquickly，ashesawtheownershakehishead。
“Thisfarmisworthfivethousandandfivehundreddollars，“saidButler，inacarelessanddecidedvoice。
“What!“almostshriekedtheastoundedHaskins。“What’sthat？Fivethousand？Why，that’sdoublewhatyouoffereditforthreeyearsago。“
“Ofcourse，andit’sworthit。Itwasallrundownthen-nowit’singoodshape。You’velaidoutfifteenhundreddollarsinimprovements，accordingtoyourownstory。“
“Butyouhadnothin’t’doaboutthat。It’smyworkan’mymoney。“
“Youbetitwas；butit’smyland。“
“Butwhat’stopaymeforallmy——“
“Ain’tyouhadtheuseof’em？“repliedButler，smilingcalmlyintohisface。
Haskinswaslikeamanstruckontheheadwithasandbag；hecouldn’tthink；hestammeredashetriedtosay：“ButInever’dgittheuseYou’drobme!More’nthat：youagreedyoupromisedthatI
couldbuyorrentattheendofthreeyearsat——“
“That’sallright。ButIdidn’tsayI’dletyoucarryofftheimprovements，northatI’dgoonrentingthefarmattwo-fifty。Thelandisdoubledinvalue，itdon’tmatterhow；itdon’tenterintothequestion；an’nowyoucanpaymefivehundreddollarsayearrent，ortakeitonyourowntermsatfifty-fivehundred，orgitout。“
HewasturningawaywhenHaskins，thesweatpouringfromhisface，frontedhim，sayingagain：
“Butyou’vedonenothingtomakeitso。Youhadn’taddedacent。I
putitalltheremyself，expectin’tobuy。Iworkedan’sweattoimproveit。Iwasworkin’formyselfan’babes——“
“Well，whydidn’tyoubuywhenIofferedtosell？Whaty’kickin’
about？“
“I’mkickin’aboutpayin’youtwicef’rmyownthings，myownfences，myownkitchen，myowngarden。“
Butlerlaughed。“You’retoogreent’eat，youngfeller。Yourimprovements!Thelawwillsinganothertune。“
“ButItrustedyourword。“
“Nevertrustanybody，myfriend。Besides，Ididn’tpromisenottodothisthing。Why，man，don’tlookatmelikethat。Don’ttakemeforathief。It’sthelaw。Thereg’larthing。Everybodydoesit。“
“Idon’tcareiftheydo。It’sstealin’jestthesame。Youtakethreethousanddollarsofmymoneytheworko’myhandsandmywife’s。“Hebrokedownatthispoint。Hewasnotastrongma
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