“Iwishyoumighthaveseenthefigureyoucut！Thatfineteam，flowerbedecked，andthecontinuousconcert！“
“ButIdid！“criedLaddie。“Wehavemirrors。Thatsongcan’tbebeaten。Iknowthisteamisallright，andI’mnotdwarfedordisfigured。Thatwasthepageantofsummerpassinginreview。
Itrepresentedthetillingofthesoil；thesowingofseed，garneringtocomelater。Youbuycornandwheat，don’tyou？
Theyarevastlynecessary。Muchmoresothanthesettlingofquarrelsthatnevershouldhavetakenplace。Doyouthinkyourdaughterfoundthespectacleatallmoving？“
“Damnyou，sir，whatIshoulddo，istolaythiswhipacrossyourshoulders！“criedMr。Pryor。
Butifyouwillbelieveit，hewaslaughingagain。
“Ipreferthatyoudon’t，“saidLaddie，“oronRangereither。
Seehowhelikesbeinggentled。“
Thenhestraightenedanddrewadeepbreath。
“Mr。Pryor，“hesaid，“asmantoman，Ihavegotthistosaytoyou——andyoumayuseyourowndiscretionaboutrepeatingittoyourdaughter：IcanofferhersixfeetofassoundmanhoodasyoucanfindonGod’sfootstool。Ineverinmywholelifehavehadenoughimpurebloodinmybodytomakeevenonetinyeruptiononmyskin。Ineverhavebeenilladayinmylife。IneverhavetouchedawomansaveasIliftedandcaredformymother，andhers，ormysisters。Astomyfamilyandeducationshecanjudgeforherself。Iofferherthefirstandonlyloveofmyheart。Sheobjectstofarming，becauseshesaysitisdirty，offensivework。Therearepartsofitthataredirty。ThankGod，itonlysoilsthebody，andthatcanbewashed。Todelveandtodiveinto，andtostudyandtobroodoverthebiggerhalfofthelawbusinessofanycityistosteepyourbrainin，andsmirchyoursoulwith，suchdirtasIwoulddiebeforeI’dmakeanoccupationoftouching。Willyoukindlytellherthatwordforword，andthatIaskedyouto？“
Mr。PryorwasstandingbeforeIsawhimrise。Hesaidthoseawfulwordsagain，butbetweenthemhecried：“You’reright！
It’sthetruth！It’stheeternaltruth！“
“ItISthetruth，“saidLaddie。“I’veonlytovisittheoffices，andexaminethebusinessofthoseofmyfamilylivingbylaw，toKNOWthatit’sthetruth。Ofcoursethere’sanotherside！Therearetimeswhentherearegreatopportunitiestodogood；I
recognizethat。TosomethesemayseemtooverbalancethattowhichIobject。Iftheydo，allright。Iammerelydecidingformyself。Onceandforall，formeitisland。Itisborninmetoloveit，tohandleiteasily，togetthebestresultsfromstock。IamgoingtotaketheMerriweatherplaceadjoiningoursonthewest，andyoursonthesouth。Iintendtoleaseitfortenyears，withpurchaseprivilegeattheend，sothatifImakeofitwhatIplan，myworkwillnotbelosttome。Ihadthoughttofixuptheplaceandbeginfarming。IfMissPryorhasanyusewhateverforme，andprefersstock，thatisallrightwithme。
I’llgointothesamebusinessshefindssuitableforyou。Icanstartinasmallwayanddevelop。Icanaffordamaidforherfromthebeginning，butIcouldn’tclotheherasshehasbeenaccustomedtobeingdressed，forsometime。Iwoulddomybest，however。Iknowwhatstoremymothersetsbybeingwellgowned。
Andasahusband，Icanofferyourdaughteraslovingconsiderationaswomaneverreceivedatthehandsofman。
ProvidedbysomemiracleIcouldwinherconsent，wouldyouevenconsiderme，andsuchanarrangement？“
“Franklysir，“saidMr。Pryor，“IhavereachedtheplacewhereI
wouldbe——“wheneveryoucometoalongblacklinelikethat，itmeansthathejustroaredalotofwordsfatherneversaid，andneverwill——“gladto！Totellthetruth，thethingyouchoosetojestinglyrefertoas`tinware’——Ihopelatertoconvinceoftheindelicacyofsuchallusion——wouldplaceyouinEnglandonasociallevelaboveanyweeveroccupied，orcouldhopeto。Youreducationequalsours。Youareaphysicalspecimentobereckonedwith，andIbelievewhatyousayofyourself。There’ssomethingsocleanandmanlyaboutyou，itamountstoconfirmation。Awomanshouldsetherownvaluationonthat；andtheheightofitshouldcorrespondwithherknowledgeoftheworld。“
“Thankyou！“saidLaddie。“Youaremorethankind！morethangenerous！“
“AstothearrangementsyoucouldmakeforPamela，“saidMr。
Pryor，“she’sallwehave。Everythinggoestoher，ultimately。
Shehasherstipulatedallowancenow；whetherinmyhouseoryours，itwouldgowithher。Surelyyouwouldn’tbesocallousastoobjecttoourgivingheranythingthatwouldpleaseus！“
“WhyshouldI？“askedLaddie。“That’sonlynaturalonyourpart。
Yourchildisyourchild；nomatterwhereorwhatitis，youexpecttoexerciseacertainamountoflovingcareoverit。Myfatherandmotherconstantlysendthingstotheirchildrenabsentfromhome，andtheytakemuchpleasureindoingit。Thatisbetweenyouandyourdaughter，ofcourse。Ishouldn’tthinkofinterfering。Butinthemeantime，unlessMissPryorhasbeenconvertedtothebeautiesofplowingthroughmycontinuousperformanceofoveraweek，IstandnowexactlywhereIdidbefore，sofarassheisconcerned。IfyouandMrs。Pryorhavenoobjectiontome，ifyoufeelthatyoucouldthinkofme，orfindformeanyleastpartofason’splaceinyourhearts，I
believeIshouldknowhowtoappreciateit，andhowtogotoworktomakemyselfworthyofit。“
Mr。Pryorsatdownsosuddenly，therailalmostbroke。Ithoughtthetruthwas，thathehadhearttrouble，himself。Hestoppedup，chokedonthings，floppedaround，andturnedsowhite。I
supposehethoughtitwaswomanish，andasignofweakness。andsohedidn’ttell，butIbetanythingthathehadit——bad！
“I’lltrytomakethelittlefoolsee！“hesaid。
“Gently，gently！Youwon’thelpmeanyinthatmood，“saidLaddie。“ThechancesarethatMissPryorrepeatedwhatsheheardfromyoulongago，andwhatsheknowsyouthinkandfeel，unlessyou’vechangedrecently。“
“That’stheamountofit！“criedMr。Pryor。“AllmylifeI’vehadalotofbeastlynotionsinmyheadaboutrank，andclass，andheretheydon’tamounttoadamn！There’snoplaceforthem。
Thingsaredifferent。Yourmother，agrand，goodwoman，openedmyeyestomanythingsrecently，andIgetherviewpoint——
clearly，andIagreewithher，andwithyou，sir！——Iagreewithyou！“
“Iammorethanglad，“saidLaddie。“Youcertainlymakeafriendatcourt。Thankyouverymuch！“
“Andyouwillcome——？“
“TheinstantMissPryorgivesmetheslightestsignthatIamwanted，andwillbewelcomedbyher，I’llcomelikeaDakotablizzard！Floscanhumpherselfontimeforonce。“
“Butyouwon’tcomeuntilshedoes？“
“Manalive！Ican’t！“criedLaddie。“Yourdaughtersaidpositivelyexactlywhatshemeant。ItwasunexpectedandithitmesohardIdidn’ttrytoargue。Isimplytookheratherword，herveryexplicitword。“
“Fool！“criedMr。Pryor。“Thelastthingonearthanywomaneverwantsorexpectsisforamantotakeheratherword。“
“What？“criedLaddie。
“Shehadwhatshesaidinhermindofcourse，butwhatshewantedwastobearguedoutofit！Shewantedtobeconvinced！“
“Ithinknot！Shewasentirelytooconvincingherself，“saidLaddie。“It’smyguessthatshehasthoughtmattersover，andthathermindismadeup；butIwouldtakeitasamightybigfavourifyouwouldputthatlittlepieceofspecialpleadingsquarelyuptoher。Willyou？“
“Yes，“saidMr。Pryor，“Iwill。I’llkeepcoolanddomybest，butIamsounfortunateinmytemper。Icouldmanageslavesbetterthanwomen。ThistimeI’llbecalm，andreasonthingsoutwithher，orI’llblowoutmybrains。“
“Don’tyoudare！“laughedLaddie。“YouandIaregoingtogetmuchpleasure，comfortandprofitfromthisworld，nowthatwehavecometoanunderstanding。“
Mr。Pryoraroseandheldouthishand。Laddiegraspedittight，andtheystoodtherelookingstraightateachother，whilealarkonthefencepostclosebycried，“Springo’ye-ar！“atthem，overandover，buttheyneverpaidtheleastattention。
“Yousee，“saidMr。Pryor，“I’vebeenthinkingthingsoverdeeply，deeply！eversincetalkingwithyourmother。I’vecutmyselfofffromgoingbacktoEngland，bysacrificingmuchofmypropertyinhastydeparture，ifbyanypossibilityIshouldeverwanttoreturn，andthereisnone，nottheslightest！There’snodangerofanyonecrossingthesea，andpenetratingtothisparticularspotsofarinland；wewon’tbemolested！Andlately——lately，despitetherawness，andthenewness，thereissomethingaboutthelandthattakeshold，afterall。Ishoulddislikeleavingnow！Ifoundinwatchingsomerootsyourmothergaveme，thatIwantedthemtogrow，thatIverymuchhopedtheywoulddevelop，andbeautifyourplacewithflowers，asyoursis。
Ifindmyselfwatchingthem，watchingthemdaily，andoftener，andthereseemstobeasortofhomefeelingcreepingaroundmyheart。IwishPamelawouldlistentoreason！Iwishshewouldmarryyousoon！Iwishtherewouldbelittlechildren。Nothingelseonearthwouldcomesoclosetocomfortingmywife，andmealso。Nothing！Goahead，lad，plowaway！I’llputyourspecialpleadinguptothegirl。“
HeclaspedLaddie’shand，mountedandrodebacktothegatehehadenteredwhenhecame。Laddiesatontherail，soIclimbeddownbesidehim。Heputhisarmaroundme。
“DoIfeelanybetter？“heaskeddubiously。
“Ofcourseyoudo！“Isaidstoutly。“Youfeelwholeheaps，andstacks，andpilesbetter。Youhaven’tgothimtofightanymore，orMrs。Pryor。It’snowonlytoconvincethePrincessabouthowit’sallrighttoplow。“
“Smallmatter，that！“saidLaddie。“Andeasy！Justassimpleandeasy！“
“HaveyouaskedtheFairiestohelpyou？“
“Aye，aye，sir，“saidLaddie。“Alsothewinds，theflowers，thebirdsandthebees！Ihaveaskedeverythingonearthtohelpmeexceptyou，LittleSister。IwonderifIhavebeenmakingamistakethere？“
“Areyoumadatme，Laddie？“
“’Causeforwhy？“
“Abouttheoldcrestthing！“
“Forgetit！“laughedLaddie。“Ihave。Andanyway，inthelongrun，Imustbehonestenoughtoadmitthatitmayhavehelped。
ItseemstohavehaditsinfluencewithMr。Pryor，nodoubtitworkedthesameonMrs。Pryor，anditmaybethatitwasbecauseshehadsomuchmoretobankonthansheeverexpected，thatthePrincessfeltemboldenedtomakeherdemand。Itmaybe，youcan’ttell！Anyway，it’sveryevidentthatitdidnorealharm。
Andforgetmyjesting，Chicken。Amancan’talwayscrybecausetherearetearsinhisheart。Ithinkquiteasmuchofthatcrestasyoudo。Inthesumofhumanevents，itisabigthing。
NooneadmiresaCrusadermorethanI。Noonelikesagoodfightbetter。NoCrusadereverputupastifferbattlethanIhaveinthepastweekwhileworkinginthesefields。Everyinchofthemisbattlefield，everyfurrowaseparateconflict。GazeuponthesceneofmyWaterloo！WhenJunecoversitwithgreen，itwillwaveovertherestingplaceofmyslainheart！“
“OhLaddie！“Isobbed。“Thereyougoagain！Howcanyou？“
“Whoo-pee！“criedLaddie。“That’sthequestion！HowcanI？Gotto，LittleSister！There’snootherway。“
“No，“Iwasforcedtoadmit，“thereisn’t。Whatarewegoingtodonow？“
“Life-saver，we’llnowgotodinner，“saidLaddie。“Nothingexceptthepartnershipimpliedin`we’sustainsmenow。YOU’LL
FINDAWAYTOHELPMEOUT，WON’TYOU，LITTLESISTER？“
“OFCOURSEIWILL！“Ipromised，withouteverstoppingaminutetothinkwhatkindofajobthatwasgoingtobe。
Didyoueverwishwithallyourmightthatsomethingwouldhappen，andwaitforit，expectit，andlongforit，andnothingdid，untilitgrewsobad，itseemedasifyouhadtogoonanotherminuteyoucouldn’tbearit？NowIthoughtwhenMr。
Pryortalkedtoher，maybeshe’dsendforLaddiethatverysamenight；butsendnothing！Shedidn’tevenrideonourroadanymore。Ofcourseherfatherhadmadeabotchofit！BetIcouldhavetoldherLaddie’smessagestraighterthanhedid。Icouldthinkitover，andseeexactlyhowhe’ddo。He’dtalknicelyaboutoneminute，andthefirstwordshesaid，thathedidn’tlike，he’dberanting，andusingunsuitablewords。Justaslikeasnothetoldherthathe’dlayhiswhipacrosshershoulders，likehehadLaddie。Anyonecouldseethataslongasshewashisdaughter，shemightbeslightlyhandywithwhipsherself；atleastshewouldn’tbelikelytostandstillandtellhimtogoaheadandbeather。
SundayLaddiewenttoLucy’s。Hesaidhewashavingafamilyreunionontheinstallmentplan。Ofcoursewelaughed，butnoneofusmissedthelonglookhesenttowardPryors’ashemountedtostartintheoppositedirection。
Everythingwenton。Ididn’tseehowitcould，butitdid。Itevengotworse，foranotherlettercamefromShelleythatmademattersconcerninghernobrighter，andwhilenoneofustalkedaboutLaddie，allofusknewmightywellhowwefelt；andwhatwasmuchworse，howhefelt。FatherandmotherhadquitworryingaboutGod；especiallyfather。HeseemedtothinkthatGodandLaddiecouldbetrustedtotakecareofthePrincess，andIdon’tknowexactlywhatmotherthought。Nodoubtshesawshecouldn’thelpherself，andsoshedecideditwasuselesstostruggle。
Theplowingonthewestsidewasalmostfinished，andsomeoftheseedwasin。Laddiewentstraightaheadflower-trimmedandwhistlinguntilhisfacemusthaveachedasbadlyashisheart。
Inspiteofhowhardhetriedtolaugh，andkeepgoing，allofuscouldseethathefairlyhadtostickuphisheadandstretchhisnecklikethebluegoose，tomakethebitesgodown。Andyoucouldn’thelpseeingtheroundnessandthecolourgofromhisface，alittlemoreeveryday。My！butbeinginlove，whenyoucouldn’thavetheoneyouloved，wastheworstofall。IworemyselfalmostasthinasLaddie，huntingaFairytoaskifshe’dhelpmetomakethePrincessletLaddiegoonandplow，whenhewassocrazyaboutit。Iprayedbesidemybedeverynight，untiltheLordmusthavegrownsotiredHequitlisteningtome，forI
talkedrightupasimpressivelyasIknewhow，anditdidn’tdotheleastbitofgood。Ihadn’ttriedtheonebigprayertowardtheeastyet；butIwasjustabouttotheplacewhereIintendedtodoitsoon。