" He turned round and looked at
the old house in silence a moment. Then, as he went on, his voice lost its
angry ring. "The folks here bought this place from the Indians, and they'd
been here more than two hundred years. Do you think they left it because
they were too lazy to run it, or couldn't get pianos and buggies out of
it, or were such fools as not to know whether they were well off? It was
their _home_; they were born and lived and died here. There is the family
burying-ground over there."
Neither Mrs. Makely nor myself was ready with a reply, and we left the
word with the Altrurian, who suggested: "Still, I suppose they will be
more prosperous in the West on the new land they take up?"
The young fellow leaned his arms on the wheel by which he stood. "What do
you mean by taking up new land?"
"Why, out of the public domain--"
"There _ain't_ any public domain that's worth having. All the good land is
in the hands of railroads and farm syndicates and speculators; and if you
want a farm in the West you've got to buy it; the East is the only place
where folks give them away, because they ain't worth keeping.
Pages:
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141