human
It's fierce to-night, Devine remarked.
gpt
Do you think there'll be a good turn-out of the Allenwood boys?
human
The cold won't stop them. I expect the Colonel has sent round to whip them up.
gpt
I guess you're right. Do you know, now that I've met one or two of them I see something in you and Hester that's in them. Can't tell you what it is, but it's there, and it was plainer in your father. What are they like when you get to know them?
human
Much the same as the rest of us.
gpt
The rest of us! Then you don't claim to be different from the general prairie crowd?
human
I suppose I wouldn't mind being thought the best farmer in the district, he said;
gpt
You'll get that easy enough. You've gone ahead fast, Craig, and you're going farther; but you may have some trouble on the way. When a man breaks a new trail for himself and leaves other men behind, it doesn't make them fond of him.
human
Oh, I have no delusions on that point. To attain success, one cannot hope to travel a balmy road.
gpt
Why do you want to rope in the Allenwood boys?
human
The reason's plain. You and I might make the steam-plow pay, but the price is high, and we can't do much more alone. If you want the best economy in farming, you must have cooperation. It's easier to buy expensive tools if you divide the cost.
gpt
I see that. But have you no other reason? You don't feel that you'd like to make friends with these people and, so to speak, have them acknowledge you?
human
No,