Seagraves，animpressionableyoungmanjunioreditoroftheBoomtownSpike，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。Thisatomofhumanityhowinfinitesimalthisdropintheoceanofhumanity!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。