Thesecondwinter，however，Agnesalsoattendedtheseminary，andWillsawherdailyandgrewtoloveher。HehadbeenjustabitjealousofEdKinneyallthetime，forEdhadacertainrakishgraceindancingandadashingskillinhandlingateamwhichmadehimadangerousrival。
But，asWillworkedbesidehimallthisMonday，hefeltsosecureinhisknowledgeofthecaressAgneshadgivenhimatpartingthenightbeforethathewasperfectlyhappy-sohappythathedidn’tcaretotalk，onlytoworkonanddreamasheworked。
ShrewdDavidMcTurghadhisjokewhenthemachinestoppedforafewminutes。“Well，youfellersdobetter’nIexpectedyehto，afterbein’outsolatelastnight。ThefirstfellerIfindgappin’hasgottotreattotheapples。“
“Keepyoureyeonme，“saidShep。
“You？“laughedoneoftheothers。“Anybodyknowsifagirlsomuchaslookedcrosswaysatyou，you’dfallinafit。“
“Anotherthing，“saidDavid。“Ican’thaveyoufellerscarryin’grain，goingtothehousetoooftenforfriedcakesorcookies。“
“Nowyougitout，“saidBillYoungfromthestrawpile。“Youain’tgoin’tohaveallthefuntoyerself。“
Will’sbloodbegantogrowhotinhisface。IfBillhadsaidmuchmore，ormentionedhername，hewouldhavesilencedhim。Tohavethisroughjokingcomesocloseupontheholiestandmostexquisiteeveningofhislifewashorrible。Itwasnotthewordstheysaid，butthetonestheyused，thatvulgarizeditall。Hebreathedasighofreliefwhenthesoundofthemachinebeganagain。
Thisjestingmadehimmorewary，andwhenthecallfordinnersoundedandheknewhewasgoingintoseeher，heshrankfromit。
Hetooknopartintheraceofthedust-blackened，half-famishedmentogetatthewashingplacefirst。Hetooknopartinthescurrytogetseatsatthefirsttable。
Threshingtimewasalwaysaseasonofgreattrialto-thehousewife。Tohaveadozenmenwiththeappetitesofdragonstocookforwasnosmalltaskforacoupleofwomen，inadditiontotheirothereverydayduties。Preparationsusuallybeganthenightbeforewitharaidonahenroost，for“biledchickun“
formedthepiecederesistanceofthedinner。Thetable，enlargedbyboards，filledthesittingroom。Extraseatsweremadeoutofplanksplacedonchairs，anddisheswereborrowedofneighborswhocameforsuchaid，intheirturn。
Sometimestheneighboringwomencameintohelp；butAgnesandhermotherweredeterminedtomanagethejobalonethisyear，andsothegirl，withaneatdarkdress，hereyesshining，hercheeksflushedwiththework，receivedthemenastheycameindusty，coatless，withgrime-behindtheirears，butajollygoodsmileoneveryface。
Mostofthemwerefarmersoftheneighborhoodandschoolmates。
TheonlyonesheshrankfromwasYoung，withhishard，glitteringeyesandred，sordidface。Shereceivedtheirjokes，theirnoise，withasilentsmilewhichshowedhereventeethanddimpledherroundcheek-“Shewasgoodforsoreeyes，“asoneofthefellowssaidtoShep。Sheseemeddeliciouslysweetanddaintytotheseroughlydressedfellows。
Theyrangedalongthetablewithagreatdealofnoise，bootsthumping，squeaking，knivesandforksrattling，voicesbellowingout。
“Nowholdon，Steve!Can’thaveyehsonearthatchickun!“
“Movealong，Shep!Iwanttobenexttothekitchendoor!Iwon’tgetnothin’withyouonthatsideo’me。“
“Oh，that’stoothin!Iseewhatyou’re-“
“No，Iwon’tneedanysugar，ifyoujustsmileintoit。“ThisfromgallantDavid，greetedwithroarsoflaughter。
“Now，Dave，s’poseyourwife’udhearo’that？“
“She’dsnatch’imbald-headed，that’swhatshe’ddo。“
“Say，somebodydrivethatceowdownthisway，“saidBill。
“Don’tgetoffthatdrive!It’stooold，“criticisedShep，passingthemilkjug。
Potatoeswereseized，cutinhalves，soppedingravy，andtakenone，two!Corncakeswentintogreatjawslikecoalintoasteamengine。Knivesintherighthandcutandscoopedgravyup。Great，muscular，grimy，butwholesomefellowstheywere，feedinglikeancientNorse，andcapableofworkinglikedemons。Theyweredeepintheprocess；half-hiddenbysteamfromthepotatoesandstew，inlessthansixtysecondsfromtheirentrance。
WithashrinkingfromthecommentsoftheothersuponhisregardforAgnes，Willassumedareservedandalmosthaughtyairtowardhisfellowworkmen，andacuriouscoldnesstowardher。Ashewentin，shecameforwardsmilingbrightly。
“There’sonemoreplace，Will。“Atender，involuntarydroopinhervoicebetrayedher，andWillfeltawaveofhotbloodsurgeoverhimastherestroared。
“Ha，ha!Oh，there’dbeaplaceforhim!“
“Don’tworry，Will!Alwaysroomforyouhere!“
Willtookhisseatwithasuddenangryflame。“Whycan’tshekeepitfromthesefools？“washisthought。Hedidn’teventhankherforshowinghimthechair。
Sheflushedvividly，butsmiledback。Shewassoproudandhappy，shedidn’tcareverymuchiftheydidknowit。ButasWilllookedatherwiththatquickangryglance，andtookhisseatwithscowlingbrow，shewashurtandpuzzled。Sheredoubledherexertionstopleasehim，andbysodoingaddedtotheamusementofthecrowdthatgnawedchickenbones，rattledcups，knivesandforks，andjokedastheyatewithsmallgraceandnomateriallossoftime。
Willremainedsilentthroughitall，eatinginmarkedcontrasttotheothers，usinghisforkinsteadofhisknifeineatinghispotato，’anddrinkinghisteafromhiscupratherthanfromhissaucer-
“finickies“whichdidnotescapethenoticeofthegirlnorthe。
sharpeyesoftheotherworkmen。
“Seethat？That’sthewaywedodowntothesem!See？Forkforpieinyerrighthand!Hey？Ican’tdoit。Watchme。“
WhenAgnesleanedovertosay，“Won’tyouhavesomemoretea，Will？“theynudgedeachotherandgrinned。“Aha!WhatdidItellyou？“
AgnessawatlastthatforsomereasonWilldidn’twanthertoshowherregardforhim，thatbewasashamedofitinsomeway，andshewaswounded。Tocoveritup，sheresortedtothefemininedeviceofsmilingandchattingwiththeothers。SheaskedEdifhewouldn’thaveanotherpieceofpie。
“Iwill-withafork，please。“
“Thisis’bouttheonlyplaceyoucanuseafork，“saidBillYoung，anticipatingalaughbyhisownbroadgrin。
“Oh，that’stooold，“saidShepWatson。“Don’tdragthatoutagin。A
manthat’lleatseventaters-“
“Showswhodocsthework。“
“Yes，withhisjaws，“putinJimWheelock，thedriver。“Ifyou’dputinalittlemoreworkwithsoap’n’waterbeforecomin’intodinner，it’udbeareligiousidee，“saidDavid。
“Itain’thealthytowash。“
“Well，you’llliveforever，then。“
“Heain’twashedhisfacesenceIknew’im。“
“Oh，that’salittletootought!Hewashesonceaweek，“saidEdKinney。
“Backofhisears？“inquiredDavid，whowasmunchingadoughnut，hisblackeyestwinklingwithfun。
“What’sthecauseofit？“
“Dadesaysshewon’tkiss’imifhedon’t。“Everybodyroared。
“GoodferDade!Iwouldn’tifIwasinherplace。“
Wheelockgrippedachickenlegimperturbably，andleftitbareasatoothpickwithoneortwobitesatit。Hisfaceshoneintwocleansectionsaroundhisnoseandmouth。Behindhisearsthedirtlayundisturbed。Thegreaseonhishandscouldnotbewashedoff。
WillbegantosuffernowbecauseAgnestreatedtheotherfellowstoowell。Withalover’sexactingjealousy，hewantedherinsomewaytohidetheirtendernessfromtherest，buttoshowherindifferencetomenlikeYoungandKinney。Hedidn’tstoptoinquireofhimselfthejusticeofsuchademand，norjusthowitwastobedone。Heonlyinsistedsheoughttodoit。
Heroseandleftthetableattheendofhisdinner，withouthavingspokentoher，withoutevenatender，significantglance，andheknew，too，thatshewastroubledandhurt。Buthewassuffering。Itseemedasifhehadlostsomethingsweet，lostitirrecoverably。
HenoticedEdKinneyandBillYoungwerethelasttocomeout，justbeforethemachinestartedupagainafterdinner，andhesawthempauseoutsidethethresholdandlaughbackatAgnesstandinginthedoorway。Whycouldn’tshekeepthosefellowsatadistance，notgooutofherwaytobandyjokeswiththem？
Somewaytheelationofthemorningwasgone。Heworkedondoggedlynow，withoutlookingup，withoutlisteningtotheleaves，withoutseeingthesunlightedclouds。Ofcoursehedidn’tthinkthatshemeantanythingbyit，butitirritatedhimandmadehimunhappy。Shegaveherselftoofreely。
Towardthemiddleoftheafternoonthemachinestoppedforatimeforsomerepairing；andwhileWilllayonhisstackinthebrightyellowsunshine，shellingwheatinhishandsandlisteningtothewindintheoaks，heheardhisnameandhernamementionedontheothersideofthemachine，wherethemeasuringboxstood。
Helistened。
“She’sprettysweetonhim，ain’tshe？Didyehnotushowshestoodaroundoverhim？“
“Yes；an’didyehseehimwhenshepassedthecupo’teadownoverhisshoulder？“
Willgotup，whitewithwrathastheylaughed。
“Somewayhedidn’tseemtoenjoyitasIwould。Iwishshe’dreachherarmovermyneckthatway。“
Willwalkedaroundthemachine，andcameonthegrouplyingonthechaffnearthestrawpile。
“Say，IwantyoufellerstounderstandthatIwon’thaveanymoreofthistalk。Iwon’thaveit。“
Therewasadeadsilence。ThenBillYoungroseup。
“Whatyehgoen’todoaboutUt？“besneered。
“I’mgoingtostopit。“
ThewolfroseinYoung。Hemovedforward，hisferocioussoulflamingfromhiseyes。
“W’y，youdamnedseminarydude，Icanbreakyouintwo!“
AnansweringglarecameintoWill’seyes。Hegraspedandslightlyshookhisfork，whichhehadbroughtwithhimunconsciously。
“Ifyoumakeonemotionatme，I’llsmashyourheadlikeaneggshell!“Hisvoicewaslowbutterrific。Therewasatonemitthatmadehisownbloodstopinhisveins。“IfyouthinkI’mgoingtorollaroundonthisgroundwithahyenalikeyou，you’vemistakenyourman。I’llkillyou，butIwon’tfightwithsuchmenasyouare。“
Billquailedandslunkaway，mutteringsomeepithetlike“coward。“
“Idon’tcarewhatyoucallme，butjustrememberwhatIsay：youkeepyourtongueoffthatgirl’saffairs。“
“That’sthetalk!“saidDavid。“Standupforyourgirlalways，butdon’tuseafork。Youcanhandlehimwithoutthat：’
“Idon’tproposetotry，“saidWill，asheturnedaway。Asbedidso，hecaughtaglimpseofEdKinneyatthewell，pumpingapailofwaterforAgnes，whostoodbesidehim，thesunonherbeautifulyellowhair。ShewaslaughingatsomethingEdwassayingasheslowlymovedthehandleupanddown。
Instantly，likeafoaming，turbidflood，hisragesweptouttowardher。“It’sallherfault，“hethought，grindinghisteeth。“She’safool。
Ifshe’dholdherselfinlikeothergirls!Butno；shemustsmileandsmileateverybody。“Itwasabeautifulpicture，butitsentashiverthroughhim。
Heworkedonwithteethset，whitewithrage。Hehadanimpulsethatwould？havemadehimassaultherwithwordsaswithaknife。
Hewaspossessedwithaterriblepassionwhichwashithertolatentinhim，andwhichhenowfelttobehisworstself。Buthewaspowerlesstoexorciseit。Hissetteethachedwiththestressofhismusculartension，andhiseyessmartedwiththestrain。
Hehadalwayspridedhimselfonbeingcool，calm，abovetheseabsurdquarrelsthathiscompanionshadsooftenindulgedin。Hedidn’tsupposehecouldbesomoved。Asheworkedon，hisragesettleddownintoasortofstubbornbitterness-stubbornbitternessofconflictbetweenthisevilnatureandhisusualself。Itwastheinstinctofpossession，theorganicfeelingofproprietor-shipofawoman，whichrosetothesurfaceandmasteredhim。Hewasnotaself-analyst，ofcourse，beingyoung，thoughhewasmoreintrospectivethantheordinaryfarmer。