Ninainherpoorwayhadlongingsandaspirations。Shewantedtomarry“aYankee，“andnotoneofherownkind。Shehadalittleschoolingobtainedatthesmallbrickshedunderthetoweringcottonwoodtreeatthecornerofherfather’sfarm；butherlifehadbeenoneofhardworkandmightylittleplay。HerparentsspokeinGermanaboutthefarm，andcouldspeakEnglishonlyverybrokenly。HeronlybrotherhadadventuredintotheforeignpartsofPineCountyandhadbeenkilledinasawmill。Herlifewaslonelyandhard。
ShehadsuitorsamongtheGermans，plentyofthem，butshehadadisgustofthem-consideredaspossiblehusbands-andthoughshewenttotheirbeerydancesoccasionally，shehadalwaysinhermindtheease，lightness，andcolorofClaude。SheknewthattheYankeegirlsdidnotworkinthefields-eventheNorwegiangirlsseldomdidsonow，theyworkedoutintown-butshehadbeenbroughtuptohoeandpullweedsfromherchildhood，andherfatherandmotherconsidereditgoodforher，andbeingagentleandobedientchild，shestillcontinuedtodoasshewastold。
Claudepitiedthegirl，andusedtotalkwithher，duringhisshortstay，inhischeeriestmanner。
“Hello，Nina!Howyouvass，ain’tit？Howmuchcreamalreadyyougotthismorning？Didyouhearthenews，not？“
“No，vothasshappened？“
“Everything。FrankMcvey’shorsesteppedthroughthebridgeandbrokehisleg，andhe’sgoingtosuethecounty-meanFrankis，notthehorse。“
“Issdotso？“
“Sure!andBillHetnerhadafight，andJuliaDooriliager’sgothome。“
“VotwassBillfightdingapoudt？“
“Oh，drunk-fightingforexercise。Hain’tgotafreshpiecut？“
Herfacelightedup，andsheturnedsosuddenlytogothatherbarelegshowedbelowherdress。Herunstockingedfeetwerethrustintocoarseworkingshoes。Claudewrinkledhisnoseindisgust，buthetookthepieceofgreencurrantpieonthepalmofhishandandbittheacuteanglefromit。
“First-rate。Youdomakelickin’goodpies，“hesaidOutofpurekindnessofheart，andNinawasradiant。
“Shewouldn’tbesobad-lookin’iftheydidn’tworkherinthefieldslikeahorse，“hesaidtohimselfashedroveaway。
TheneighborswerewellawareofNina’sdevotion，andMrs。
Smith，wholivedtwoorthreehousesdowntheroad，said，“Goodevening，Claude。SeenNinatoday？“
“Sure!andshegavemeapieceofcurrantpie-herownmake。“
“Didyoueatit？“
“DidI？Iguessyes。Iain’trefusin’piefromNina-notwhileherpahasfivehundredacresofthebestlandinMolassesGap。“
Now，itwasthisinnocentjokingonhispartthatstartedallClaude’strouble。Mrs。Smithcalledacoupleofdayslaterandhadherjokewith’Cindy。
“’Cindy，yourcake’salldough。“
“Why，what’sthematternow？“
“Claudecomealongt’otherdaygrinnin’fromeartoear，andsomecurrantpieinhismusstache。HehadjestfixeditupwithNina。Hejestasmuchassaidhewasaftertheoldman’sacres。“
“Well，lethimhave’em。Idon’tknowasitinterestsme，“replied’Cindy，wavingherheadlikeabanner。“IfhewantstosellhimselftothatgreasyDutchwomanwhy，lethim，that’sall!Idon’tcare。“
HerheatedmannerbetrayedhertoMrs。Smith，wholaughedwithhugeenjoyment。
“Well，youbetterwatchout!“
Thenextdaywasverywarm，andwhenClaudedroveupundertheshadeofthebigmapleshewasreadyforachatwhilehishorsesrested，but’Cindywasnowheretobeseen。Mrs。Kennedycameouttogettheamountoftheskimmingandstartedtore-enterthehousewithouttalk。
“Where’stheyoungfolks？“askedClaudecarelessly。
“IfyoumeanLucindy，she’sinthehouse。“
“Ain’tsickornothin’，isshe？“
“Notthatanybodyknowsof。Don’texpecthertobeheretogasswithyoueverytime，doye？“
“Well，Iwouldn’tmind“’repliedClaude。Hewastookeennottoseehischance。“Infact，I’dliketohaveherwithmeallthetime，Mrs。Kennedy，“hesaidwithengagingfrankness。
“Well，youcan’thaveher，“themotherrepliedungraciously。
“What’sthematterwithme？“
“Oh，Ilikeyouwellenough，but’Cindy’dbeabigfooltomarryamanwithoutarooftocoverhishead。“
“That’swhereyoutakeyourinning，sure，“Claudereplied。“I’mnotmuchbetterthanahiredhand。Well，now，seehere，I’mgoingtomakeastrikeoneofthesedays，andthen-lookoutforme!Youdon’tknowbutwhatI’veinvestedinagoldmine。ImaybeaDutchlordindisguise。Betternotbebrash。“
Mrs。Kennedy’ssournesscouldnotstandagainstsuebsweetnessanddrollery。Shesmiledinwryfashion。“You’dbetterbemoving，oryou’llbelate。“
“Sureenough。IfIonlyhadyouforamother-in-law-that’swhyI’msopoor。Nobodytokeepmemoving。IfIhadsomeonetodothetalkingforme，I’dwork。“Hegrinnedbroadlyanddroveout。
HisirritationledhimtosaysomethingstoNinawhichhewouldnothavethoughtofsayingthedaybefore。Shehadbeenworkinginthefieldandhaddroppedherhoetoseehim。
“Say，Nina，Iwouldn’tworkoutdoorssuchadayasthisifIwasyou。I’dtelltheoldmantogotothunder，andI’dgoinandwashupandlookdecentYankeewomendon’tdothatkindofwork，andyourolddad’srich；nouseofyoursweatin’aroundacornfieldwithahoeinyourhands。Idon’tliketoseeawomangoin’roundwithoutstockin’sandherhandsallchappedandcalloused。Itain’taccordin’toHoyle。No，sir!Iwouldn’tstandit。I’dserveaninjunctionontheoldmanrightnow。“
Adull，slowflushcreptintothegirl’sface，andsheputonehandovertheotherastheyrestedonthefence。Onelookedsomuchlessmonstrousthantwo。
Claudewenton，“Yes，sir!I’dbraceupandgotoYankeemeetinginsteadofDutch；you’dpickupaYankeebeaulikeasnot。“
Hegatheredhiscreamwhileshestoodsilentlyby，andwhenhelookedatheragainshewasindeepthought。
“Goodday，“hesaidcheerily。
“Goodbye，“shereplied，andherfaceflushedagain。
Itrainedthatnight，andtheroadswereverybad，andhewaslatethenexttimehearrivedatHaldeman’s。Ninacameoutinherbestdress，buthesaidnothingaboutit，supposingshewasgoingtotownorsomethingLikethat，andhehurriedthroughwithhistaskandhadmountedhisseatbeforeherealizedthatanythingwaswrong。
ThenMrs。HaldemanappearedatthekitchendoorandhurledalotofunintelligibleGermanathim。Heknewshewasmad，andmadathim，andalso’atNina，forsheshookherfistatthemalternately。
Singulartotell，Ninapaidnoattentiontohermother’ssputter。ShelookedatClaudewithacertaintimidaudacity。
“Howyoulikemetoday？“
“That’sbetter，“hesaidasheeyedhercritically。“Nowyou’retalkin’!I’ddoalittlereadingofthenewspapermyself，ifIwas。
you。Awoman’sbusinessain’ttoworkoutinthehotsun-it’stocookandfixupthingsroundthehouse，andthenputonhercleandressandsetintheshadeandreadorsewonsomething。Standupto’em!DoggonemeifI’dpaddleroundthathotcornfieldwithamesso’Dutchmen-itain’tdecent!“
Hedroveoffwithachuckleattheoldman，whowasseatedatthebackofthehousewithanewspaperinhishand。Hewaslame，orpretendedhewas，andmadehiswifeanddaughterwaituponhim。
ClaudehadnoconceptionofwhatwasworkinginNina’smind，buthecouldnothelpobservingthechangesforthebetterinherappearance。Eachdayhecalledshewasneatlydressedandworehershoeslaceduptotheverytophook。
Shewaspassingthroughtribulationonhisaccount，butshesaldnothingaboutit。Theoldman，herfather，nolongerspoketoher，andthemothersputteredcontinually，butthegirlseemedsustainedbysomeinnerpower。Shecalmlywentaboutdoingasshepleased，andnofuryofwordscouldcheckherorturnheraside。
Herhandsgrewsmoothandsuppleoncemore，andherfacelosttheparboiledlookitoncehad。
Claudenoticedallthesegainsandcommentedonthemwiththefreedomofamanwhohadestablishedfriendlyrelationswithachild。
“Itellyouwhat，Nina，you’recomingalong，sure。Nextgroundhopyou’llbewearin’silkstockin’sandhigh-heeledshoes。How’stheoldman？Stillmad？“
“Hedon’tspeaktomenomore。MymuddersaysIamabigfool。“
“Shedoes？Well，youtellherIthinkyou’rejustgettingsensible。“
Shesmiledagain，andtherewasasubtlequalityinthemixtureofboldnessandtimidityofhermanner。Hispraisewassosweetandstimulating。
“Isoldmypigs，“shesaid。“Theoldman，hewassmadt，butI
didn’tmind。Ipoughtmeanewdresswiththemoney。“
“That’sright!IliketoseeawomanhaveplentyOfnewdresses，“
Claudereplied。Hewasreallyenjoyingthegirl’srebellionandgrowingwomanliness。
MeanwhilehisownaffairswithLucindywereinabadway。Heseldomsawhernow。Mrs。SmithwascarefultoconveytoherthatClaudestoppedlongerthanwasnecessaryatHaldeman’s，andsoMrs。Kennedyattendedtothematterofrecordingthecream。
Kennedyhersellwasalwaysinthefield，andClaudehadnoopportunityforaconversationwithhim，asheverymuchwishedtohave。Once，whenhesaw’Cindyinthekitchenatwork，helefthisteamtorestintheshadeandsaunteredtothedoorandlookedin。
Shewaskneadingoutcakedough，andshelookedtheloveliestthinghehadeverseen。Hersleeveswererolledup。Herneatbrowndresswascoveredwithabigapron，andhercollarwasopenaliffleatthethroat，foritwaswarminthekitchen。Shefrownedwhenshesawhim。
Hebeganjocularly。“Oh，thankyou，Icanwaittillitbakes。Notroubleatall。“
“Well，it’sagooddealoftroubletometohaveyoustandin’theregappin’atme!“
“Ain’tgappin’atyou。I’mwaitin’forthepie。“
“’Tain’tpie；it’scake。“
“Oh，well，cake’lldoforachange。Say，’Cindy-“
“Don’tcallme’Cindy!“
“Well，Lucindy。It’smightylonesomewhenIdon’tseeyouonmytrips。“
“Oh，IguessyoucanstanditwithNinatotalkto。“
“Aha!jealous，areyou？“
“JealousofthatDutchwoman!Idon’tcarewhoyoutalkto，andyouneedn’tthinkit。“
Claudewaslearnedinwoman’sways，andthispleasedhimmightily。
“Well，whenshallIspeaktoyourdaddy？“
“Idon’tknowwhatyoumean，andIdon’tcare。“
“Oh，yes，youdo。I’mgoingtocomeupherenextSundayinmybestbibandtucker，andI’mgoingtosay，’Mr。Kennedy’-’~
ThesoundofMrs。Kennedy’svoiceandfootstepsapproachingmadeClaudesuddenlyrememberhisduties。
“Seeyelater，“hesaidwithagrin。“I’llcallforthecakenexttime。“
“Calltillyousplityourthroat，ifyouwantto，“said’Cindy。
Apparentlythiscouldhavegoneonindefinitely，butitdidn’t。
LucindywenttoMinneapolisforafewweekstostaywithherbrother，andthatthrewClaudedeeperintodespairthananythingMrs。KennedymightdooranywordLucindymightsay。Itwasadreadfulblowtohimtohaveherpackupandgososuddenlyandwithoutonebackwardlookathim，and，besides，hehadplannedtakinghertoTyreontheFourthofJuly。
Mr。Kennedy，muchbetter-naturedthanthemother，toldClaudewhereshehadgone。
“Bymighty!That’saknockonthenoseforme。Whendidshego？“
“Yistady。ItookherdowntotheSiding。“
“When’sshecomingback？“
“Oh，afterthehotweatherisover；fourorfiveweeks。“