somebuddynextyear。It’udbeagoodchanceferyou。Anyhow，yougotobedandsleeplikeababe。I’vegotsomeploughingt’do，anyhow，an’we’llseeifsomethin’can’tbedoneaboutyourcase。
Ike，yougooutan’seeifthehorsesisallright，an’I’llshowthefolkst’bed。“
Whenthetiredhusbandandwifewerelyingunderthegenerousquiltsofthesparebed，Haskinslistenedamomenttothewindintheeaves，andthensaid，withaslowandsolemntone，“Therearepeopleinthisworldwhoaregoodenought’beangels，an’onlyhafft’dietobeangels。“
JimButlerwasoneofthosemencalledintheWest“landpoor。“
EarlyinthehistoryofRockRiverhehadcomeintothetownandstartedinthegrocerybusinessinasmallway，occupyingasmallbuildinginameanpartofthetown。Atthisperiodofhislifeheearnedallhegot，andwasupearlyandlatesortingbeans，workingoverbutter，andcartinghisgoodstoandfromthestation。Butachangecameoverhimattheendofthesecondyear，whenhesoldalotoflandforfourtimeswhathepaidforit。Fromthattimeforwardhebelievedinlandspeculationasthesurestwayofgettingrich。Everycenthecouldsaveorsparefromhistradeheputintolandatforcedsale，ormortgagesonland，whichwere“justasgoodasthewheat，“hewasaccustomedtosay。
Farmafterfarmfellintohishands，untilhewasrecognizedasoneoftheleadinglandownersofthecounty。HismortgageswerescatteredalloverCedarCounty，andastheyslowlybutsurelyfellinhesoughtusuallytoretaintheformerownerastenant。
Hewasnotreadytoforeclose；indeed，hehadthenameofbeingoneofthe“easiest“meninthetown。Heletthedebtoroffagainandagain，extendingthetimewheneverpossible。
“Idon’twanty’rland，“hesaid。“AllI’mafteristheint’restonmymoneythat’sall。Now，ify’want’ostayonthefarm，why，I’llgivey’agoodchance。Ican’thavethelandlayin’vacant。“Andinmanycasestheownerremainedastenant。
Inthemeantimehehadsoldhisstore；hecouldn’tspendtimeinit-
hewasmainlyoccupiednowwithsittingaroundtownonrainydayssmokingand“gassin’withtheboys，“orinridingtoandfromhisfarms。Infishing-timehefishedagooddeal。DocGrimes，BenAshley，andCalCheathamwerehiscroniesonthesefishingexcursionsorhuntingtripsinthetimeofchickensorpartridges。InwintertheywenttoNorthernWisconsintoshootdeer。
InspiteofallthesesignsofeasylifeButlerpersistedinsayinghe“hadn’tenoughmoneytopaytaxesonhisland，“andwascarefultoconveytheimpressionthathewaspoorinspiteofhistwentyfarms。Atonetimehewassaidtobeworthfiftythousanddollars，butlandhadbeenalittleslowofsaleoflate，sothathewasnotworthsomuch。
Afinefarm，knownastheHigleyplace，hadfallenintohishandsintheusualwaythepreviousyear，andhehadnotbeenabletofindatenantforit。PoorHigley，afterworkinghimselfnearlytodeathonitintheattempttoliftthemortgage，hadgoneofftoDakota，leavingthefarmandhiscursetoButler。
ThiswasthefarmwhichCounciladvisedHaskinstoapplyfor；
andthenextdayCouncilhitcheduphisteamanddrovedowntoseeButler。
“Youjestletmedothetalkin’，“hesaid。“We’llfindhimwearin’
outhispantsonsomesaltbarrelsomew’ers；andifhethoughtyouwantedaplacehe’dsockittoyouhotandheavy。Youjestkeepquiet，I’llfix’im。“
ButlerwasseatedinBenAshley’sstoretellingfishyarnswhenCouncilsaunteredincasually。
“Hello，But；lyin’agin，hey？“
“Hello，Steve!Howgoesit？“
“Oh，so-so。Tooclangmuchrainthesedays。Ithoughtitwasgoin’tfreezeupf’rgoodlastnight。TightsqueakifIgetm’ploughin’
done。How’sfarmin’withyouthesedays？“
“Bad。Ploughin’ain’thalfdone。“
“It’udbeareligiousideef’ryout’gooutan’takeahandy’rself。“
“Idon’thaffto，“saidButler，withawink。
“GotanybodyontheHigleyplace？“
“No。Knowofanybody？“
“Waal，no；noteggsackly。I’vegotarelationbackt’Michiganwho’sbenhotan’coldontheideao’comin’Westf’rsometime。Mightcomeifhecouldgetagoodlay-out。Whatdoyoutalkonthefarm？“
“Well，Id’know。I’llrentitonsharesorI’llrentitmoneyrent。“
“Waal，howmuchmoney，say？“
“Well，saytenpercent，onthepricetwo-fifty。“
“Wall，thatain’tbad。Waiton’imtill’ethrashes？“
Haskinslistenedeagerlytothisimportantquestion，butCouncilwascoollyeatingadriedapplewhichhehadspearedoutofabarrelwithhisknife。Butlerstudiedhimcarefully。
“Well，knocksmeoutoftwenty-fivedollarsinterest。“
“Myrelation’llneedallhe’sgott’githiscropsin，“saidCouncil，inthesame，indifferentway。
“Well，allright；saywait，“concludedButler。
“Allright；thisistheman。Haskins，thisisMr。ButlernorelationtoBenthehardest-workingmaninCedarCounty。“
OnthewayhomeHaskinssaid：“Iain’tmuchbetteroff。I’dlikethatfarm；it’sagoodfarm，butit’sallrundown，an’so’mI。IcouldmakeagoodfarmofitifIhadhalfashow。ButIcan’tstockitn’rseedit。“
“Waal，now，don’tyouworry，“roaredCouncilinhisear。“We’llpully’throughsomehowtillnextharvest。He’sagreedt’hireitploughed，an’youcanearnahundreddollarsploughin’an’y’c’ngittheseedo’me，an’paymebackwheny’can。“
Haskinswassilentwithemotion，butatlasthesaid，“Iain’tgotnothin’t’liveon。“
“Now，don’tyouworry’boutthat。Youjestmakeyourheadquartersatol’SteveCouncil’s。Mother’lltakeapileo’comfortinhavin’y’rwifean’children’round。
Y’see，Jane’smarriedofflately，an’Ike’sawayagood’eal，sowe’llbedarngladt’havey’stopwithusthiswinter。Nex’springwe’llseeify’can’tgitastartagin。“Andhechirrupedtotheteam，whichsprangforwardwiththerumbling，clatteringwagon。
“Say，lookyhere，Council，youcan’tdothis。Ineversaw“shoutedHaskinsinhisneighbor’sear。
Councilmovedaboutuneasilyinhisseatandstoppedhisstammeringgratitudebysaying：“Holdon，now；don’tmakesuchafussoveralittlething。WhenIseeamandown，an’thingsallontopof’m，Ijestliket’kick’emoffan’help’mup。That’sthekindofreligionIgot，an’it’sabouttheonlykind。“
Theyrodetherestofthewayhomeinsilence。Andwhentheredlightofthelampshoneoutintothedarknessofthecoldandwindynight，andhethoughtofthisrefugeforhischildrenandwife，Haskinscouldhaveputhisarmaroundtheneckofhisburlycompanionandsqueezedhimlikealover。Buthecontentedhimselfwithsaying，“SteveCouncil，you’llgity’rpayf’rthissomeday。“
“Don’twantanypay。Myreligionain’trunonsuchbusinessprinciples。“
Thewindwasgrowingcolder，andthegroundwascoveredwithawhitefrost，astheyturnedintothegateoftheCouncilfarm，andthechildrencamerushingout，shouting，“Papa’scome!“Theyhardlylookedlikethesamechildrenwhohadsatatthetablethenightbefore。Theirtorpidity，undertheinfluenceofsunshineandMotherCouncil，hadgivenwaytoasortofspasmodiccheerfulness，asinsectsinwinterrevivewhenlaidonthehearth。
Haskinsworkedlikeafiend，andhiswife，liketheheroicwomanthatshewas，borealsouncomplaininglythemostterribleburdens。
Theyroseearlyandtoiledwithoutintermissiontillthedarknessfellontheplain，thentumbledintobed，everyboneandmuscleachingwithfatigue，torisewiththesunnextmorningtothesameroundofthesameferocityoflabor。
Theeldestboydroveateamallthroughthespring，ploughingandseeding，milkedthecows，anddidchoresinnumerable，inmostwaystakingtheplaceofaman。
AninfinitelypatheticbutcommonfigurethisboyontheAmericanfarm，wherethereisnolawagainstchildlabor。Toseehiminhiscoarseclothing，hishugeboots，andhisraggedcap，ashestaggeredwithapailofwaterfromthewell，ortrudgedinthecoldandcheerlessdawnoutintothefrostyfieldbehindhisteam，gavethecity-bredvisitorasharppangofsympatheticpain。YetHaskinslovedhisboy，andwouldhavesavedhimfromthisifhecould，buthecouldnot。
ByJunethefirstyeartheresultofsuchHerculeantoilbegantoshowonthefarm。Theyardwascleanedupandsowntograss，thegardenploughedandplanted，andthehousemended。
Councilhadgiventhemfourofhiscows。
“Take’eman’run’emonshares。Idon’twant’omilks’many。Ike’saways’muchnow，Sat’d’ysan’Sund’ys，Ican’tstandthebotheranyhow。“
Othermen，seeingtheconfidenceofCouncilinthenewcomer，hadsoldhimtoolsontime；andashewasreallyanablefarmer，hesoonhadroundhimmanyevidencesofhiscareandthrift。AttheadviceofCouncilhehadtakenthefarmforthreeyears，withtheprivilegeofre-rentingorbuyingattheendoftheterm。
“It’sagoodbargain，an’y’want’onailit，“saidCouncil。“Ifyouhaveanykindovacrop，youc’npayy’rdebts，an’keepseedan’
bread。“
ThenewhopewhichnowsprangupintheheartofHaskinsandhiswifegrewalmostasapainbythetimethewidefieldofwheatbegantowaveandrustleandswirlinthewindsofJuly。Dayafterdayhewouldsnatchafewmomentsaftersuppertogoandlookatit。
“’Haveyeseenthewheatt’-day，Nettie？“heaskedonenightasherosefromsupper。
“No，Tim，Iain’thadtime。“
“Well，taketimenow。Le’sgolookatit。“
ShethrewanoldhatonherheadTommy’shatandlookingalmostprettyinherthin，sadway，wentoutwithherhusbandtothehedge。
“Ain’titgrand，Nettie？Justlookatit。“
Itwasgrand。Level，russethereandthere，heavy-headed，wideasalake，andfullofmultitudinouswhispersandgleamsofwealth，itstretchedawaybeforethegazerslikethefabledfieldoftheclothofgold。
“Oh，IthinkIhopewe’llhaveagoodcrop，Tim；andoh，howgoodthepeoplehavebeentous!“
“Yes；Idon’tknowwherewe’dbet’-dayifithadn’tteenf’rCouncilandhiswife。“
“They’rethebestpeopleintheworld，“saidthelittlewoman，withagreatsobofgratitude。
“We’llbeinthefieldonMondaysure，“saidHaskins，grippingtherailonthefencesasifalreadyattheworkoftheharvest。
Theharvestcame，bounteous，glorious，butthewindscameandblewitintotangles，andtherainmattedithereandthereclosetotheground，increasingtheworkofgatheringitthreefold。
Oh，howtheytoiledinthosegloriousdays!Clothingdrippingwithsweat，armsaching，filledwithbriers，fingersrawandbleeding，backsbrokenwiththeweightofheavybundles，Haskinsandhismantoiledon。Tummydrovetheharvester，whilehisfatherandahiredmanboundonthemachine。Inthiswaytheycuttenacreseveryday，andalmosteverynightaftersupper，whenthehandwenttobed，Haskinsreturnedtothefieldshockingtheboundgraininthelightofthemoon。Manyanightheworkedtillhisanxiouswifecameoutatteno’clocktocallhimintorestandlunch。Atthesametimeshecookedforthemen，tookcareofthechildren，washedandironed，milkedthecowsatnight，madethebutter，andsometimesfedthehorsesandwateredthemwhileherhusbandkeptattheshocking。
NoslaveintheRomangalleyscouldhavetoiledsofrightfullyandlived，forthismanthoughthimselfafreeman，andthathewasworkingforhiswifeandbabes。
Whenhesankintohisbedwithadeepgroanofrelief，tootiredtochangehisgrimy，drippingclothing，hefeltthathewasgettingnearerandnearertoahomeofhisown，andpushingthewolfofwantalittlefartherfromhisdoor。
Thereisnodespairsodeepasthedespairofahomelessmanorwoman。Toroamtheroadsofthecountryorthestreetsofthecity，tofeelthereisnoroodofgroundonwhichthefeetcanrest，tohaltwearyandhungryoutsidelightedwindowsandhearlaughterandsongwithin，thesearethehungersandrebellionsthatdrivementocrimeandwomentoshame。
Itwasthememoryofthishomelessness，andthefearofitscomingagain，thatspurredTimothyHaskinsandNettie，hiswife，tosuchferociouslaborduringthatfirstyear。