“’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。Hewasnotastrongmanmentally。Hecouldfacehardship，ceaselesstoil，buthecouldnotfacethecoldandsneeringfaceofButler。
“ButIdon’ttakeit，“saidButler，coolly“Allyou’vegottodoistogoonjestasyou’vebeena-coin’，orgivemeathousanddollarsdown，andamortgageattenpercentontherest。“
Haskinssatdownblindlyonabundleofoatsnearby，andwithstaringeyesanddroopingheadwentoverthesituation。Hewasunderthelion’spaw。Hefeltahorriblenumbnessinhisheartandlimbs。Hewashidinamist，andtherewasnopathout。
Butlerwalkedabout，lookingatthehugestacksofgrain，andpullingnowandagainafewhandfulsout，shellingtheheadsinhishandsandblowingthechaffaway。Hehummedalittletuneashedidso。Hehadanaccommodatingairofwaiting。
Haskinswasinthemidstoftheterribletoilofthelastyear。Hewaswalkingagainintherainandthemudbehindhisplough-hefeltthedustanddirtofthethreshing。Theferocioushusking-time，withitscuttingwindandbiting，clingingsnows，layharduponhim。Thenhethoughtofhiswife，howshehadcheerfullycookedandbaked，withoutholidayandwithoutrest。
“Well，whatdoyouthinkofit？“inquiredthecool，mocking，insinuatingvoiceofButler。
“Ithinkyou’reathiefandaliar!“shoutedHaskins，leapingup。“A
black-heartedhoun’!“Butler’ssmilemaddenedhim；withasuddenleaphecaughtaforkinhishands，andwhirleditintheair。“You’llneverrobanotherman，damnye!“hegratedthroughhisteeth，alookofpitilessferocityinhisaccusingeyes。
Butlershrankandquivered，expectingtheblow；stood，heldhypnotizedbytheeyesofthemanhehadamomentbeforedespisedamantransformedintoanavengingdemon。Butinthedeadlyhushbetweentheliftoftheweaponanditsfalltherecameagushoffaint，childishlaughterandthenacrosstherangeofhisvision，farawayanddim，hesawthesun-brightheadofhisbabygirl，as，withthepretty，totteringrunofatwo-year-old，shemovedacrossthegrassofthedooryard。Hishandsrelaxed：theforkfelltotheground；hisheadlowered。
“Makeouty’rdeedan’mor’gage，an’gitoff’nmyland，an’don’tyenevercrossmylineagin；ify’do，I’llkillye。“
Butlerbackedawayfromthemaninwildhaste，andclimbingintohisbuggywithtremblinglimbsdroveoffdowntheroad，leavingHaskinsseateddumblyonthesunnypileofsheaves，hisheadsunkintohishands。
THECREAMERYMAN
“Alongthesewoodsinstormandsunthebusypeoplego。“
THEtin-peddlerhasgoneoutoftheWest。Amiablegossipandsharptraderthathewas，hisvisitsoncebroughtasharpbusinessgrappletothefarmer’swifeanddaughters，afterwhich，asthemanoftradewasrepackinghisunsoldwares，amomentofcheerfultalkoftentookplace。Itwashiscue，ifhechancedtobeatactfulpeddler，todropallattemptsatsaleandbecomedistinctlyhumanandneighborly。
Hiscallswerenotalwayswellreceived，buttheywereattheirbestpleasantbreaksofamonotonousroundofduties。Butheisnolongerafamiliarspotonthelandscape。Hehaspassedintothelimboofthethingsnolongernecessary。Hisredwagonmayberumblingandrattlingthroughsomenewerregion，butthe“couleecountry“knowshimnomore。
’Thecreameryman“hastakenhisplace。Everyafternoon，rainorshine，thewagonsoftheNorthStarCreameryin“Dutcher’sCoulee“stopatthefarmers’windmillstoskimthecreamfromthe“submergedcans。“Hiswagonisnotgay；itisgenerallybatteredandcoveredwithmudandfilledwithtallcans；butthedriverhimselfisgenerallyyoungandsometimesattractive。ThedriverinMolassesGap，whichisasmallcouleeleadingintoDutcher’sCouleewasparticularlygood-lookingandamusing。
Hewasawareofhisgoodlooks，andhisdressnotonlyshowedthathewassingle，butthathehopedtobemarriedsoon。Heworebrowntrousers，whichfittedhimverywell，andadark-blueshirt，whichhadagaylacingofredcordinfront，andapairofsuspendersthatwereavividgreen。OnhisheadheworeaChinesestrawhelmet；whichwasasuglyasanythingcouldconceivablybe，buthewasasproudofitashewasofhisgreensuspenders。Insummerheworenocoatatall，andeveninprettycoldweatherhelefthisvestonhiswagonseat，notbeingabletobringhimselftothepointofcoveringuptheredandgreenofhisattire。
Itwasnoticeablethatthewomenoftheneighborhoodalwayscameout，evenonwashday，toseethatClaudehisnamewasClaudeWilllamsmeasuredthecreamproperly。Therewasmuchbanteraboutthis。Mrs。Kennedyalwayssaidshewouldn’ttrusthim“fur’syoucanflingayearlin’bullbythetail。“
“Nowthat’sthedifferencebetweenus，“hewouldreply。“I’dtrustyouanywhere。Anybodywithsuchadaughterasyour’n“
Heseldomgotfurther，forLucindyalwayssaidinsubstance，“Oh，yougo’long。“
Thereneedbenomysteryinthematter。’Cindywasthegirlforwhosedelightheworethegreenandred。Hemadenosecretofhislove，andshemadenosecretofherscorn。Shelaughedathisgreen’spendersandthe“redshoestring“inhisshirt；butClaudeconsideredhimselfverylearnedinwomen’sways，byreasonoftwoyears’drivingthecreamerywagon，andbemerelywinkedatMrs。Kennedywhenthegirlwaslooking，andkissedhishandat’Cindywhenhermotherwasnotlooking。
Helookedforwardeveryafternoontotheselittleexchangesofwit，andwasdepressedwhenforanyreasonthewomenfolkswereaway。TherewereotherplacespleasanterthantheKennedyfarm-someof“theDutchmen“hadfinebigbrickhousesandfinerandbiggerbarns，buttheirwomenweremostlyhomelyandwentaroundbarefootedandbarelegged，withuglybluedresseshangingfrayedandgreasyroundtheirlankribsandbigjoints。
“Somewaytheirbighouseshavealooklikeastablewhenyougetcloseto’em，“Claudesaidto’Cindyonce。“Theirwomenworksomuchinthefieldtheydon’thaveanytimetofixup-thewayyoudo。Idon’tbelieveinwomenworkin’inthefields。“Hesaidthislooking’Cindyintheface。“Mywifeneedn’tsetherfootoutdoors’lessshe’samindto。“
“Oh，youcantalk，“repliedthegirlscornfully，“butyou’dbeliketherestof’em。“Butshewasgladthatshehadonacleancollarandapron-ifitwasironingday。
WhatClaudewouldhavesaidfurther’Cindycouldnotdivine，forhermothercalledheraway，asshegenerallydidwhenshesawherdaughterlingeringtoolongwiththecreameryman。ClaudewasnotconsideredasuitablematchforLucindyKennedy，whosefatherownedoneofthefinestfarmsinthecoulee。WorldlyconsiderationsholdinMolassesGapaswellasinBluffSidingandTyre。
ButClaudegavelittleheedtothesemoodsinMrs。Kennedy。If’Cindysputtered，helaughed；andifshesmiled，herodeonwhistlingtillhecametooldmanHaldeman’s，whoownedthewholelowerhalfofMolassesGap，andhadoneummarrieddaughter，whothoughtClaudeoneofthehandsomestmenintheworld。Shewasalwaysatthegatetogreethimashedroveup，andforcedsectionsofcakeandpiecesofgooseberrypieuponhimeachday。
“She’sgoodenough-foraDutchman，“Claudesaidofher，“butI
hatetoseeawomangoaroundlookingasifherclotheswoulddropoffifitrainedonher。AndonSundays，whenshedressesup，shelookslikeaboyriggedoutinsomegirl’scast-offduds。“
ThiswasprettyhardonNina。Shewastallandlankandsandy，withsmallblueeyes，herlimbswereheavy，andshedidwearherSundayclothesbadly，butshewasagood，generoussoulandverymuchinlovewiththecreameryman。Shewasnotveryclean，butthenshecouldnothelpthat；thedustofthefieldisnorespecterofsex。No，shewasnotlovely，butshewastheonlydaughterofoldErnestHaldeman，andtheoldmanwasnotverystrong。
ClaudewasthedailybulletinoftheGap。Heknewwhosecowdiedthenightbefore，whowasatthestrawberrydance，andallaboutAbeAnderson’snightinjailupattheSiding。IfhiscomingwaswelcometotheKennedy’s，whotooktheBluffSidingGimletandthecountypaper，howmuchthemorecordialoughthisgreetingtobeatHaldeman’s，wheretheyonlytooktheMilwaukeeWeeklyFreiheit。