Helen realized that she had made an alliance with Mrs. Charnock for Bob’s protection, and was conscious of a virtuous thrill.  The work she had undertaken was good, but she remembered with faint uneasiness that she had pledged her husband to it without his consent.  She showed Sadie the house, and while there was much the latter admired, she made, from her larger knowledge of the plains, a number of suggestions that Helen thought useful.  By and by Bob returned with Festing for supper, and stopped for another hour.  When he and Sadie had gone Festing frowned as he glanced at his watch.

“It’s too late to finish the job I wanted to do tonight,” he said, and indicated the dark figures of a man and horses silhouetted against the sunset on the crest of the rise.  “There’s Jules coming home.  He couldn’t get on without me.”

Helen pretended not to notice his annoyance.  “After all, you’re not often disturbed, and a little relaxation is good.  I’ve no doubt you had an amusing talk with Bob.”

“Bob bored me badly, though we didn’t talk much.  I was driving the disc-harrows and he lay in the grass.  I had to stop for a few minutes every time I reached the turning and listen to his remarks.”

“And you feel you deserve some sympathy?” Helen said with a laugh.  “Well, I suppose it was an infliction to be forced to talk.”

Festing’s annoyance vanished.  “I mustn’t make too much of it.  I really don’t object to talking when I’ve finished my work.”

“When do you finish your work, Stephen?”

“That’s a fair shot!  In summer, I stop when it’s too dark to see.  The annoying thing wasn’t so much the stopping as Bob’s attitude.  He lay there with his pipe, looking as if nothing would persuade him to work, and his smile hinted that he thought delaying me an excellent joke.  I believe I was polite, but certainly hope he won’t come back.”

Helen thought it was not the proper time to tell him about the invitation she had given Sadie, and she said, “Idleness seems to jar you.”

“It does.  I dislike the man who demands the best to eat and drink and won’t use his brain or muscle if he can help.  In this country, the thing’s immoral; the fellow’s obviously a cheat.  We live by our labor, raising grain and cattle—­”

“But what about the people in the towns?”

“A number of them handle our products and supply us with tools.  Of course, there are speculators and real-estate boomsters who gamble with our earnings, but their job is not as easy as it looks.  They run big risks and bear some strain.  Still, if it was left to me, I’d make them plow.”

Helen laughed.  “You’re rather drastic, Stephen; but if one takes the long view, I dare say you are right.”

“Then let’s take the narrowest view we can.  When a farmer who hasn’t much money loafs about the poolroom and lies on his back, smoking, it’s plain that he’s taking advantage of somebody else.  Perhaps the thing’s shabbiest when he puts his responsibilities on his wife.  That’s what Bob does.”