Chapter 19 Summary

Hattie's next installment to the Arlington News describes her experiences with threshing her flax. She is proud of the bundles, called shocks, that are left behind and looks forward to threshing the grain in a few weeks time. They are words that bring her great joy to write. It is still so hot that even preparing a meal is almost too much work. She can see dust on the coulee, and before long, Traft comes into sight on Trouble. He asks if he can water his horse and Hattie agrees immediately while he stands and discusses the lack of rain with her. He makes a point of mentioning disappointing harvests elsewhere, telling her it still isn't too late to accept his offer. When she insists that she truly isn't interested, he tells her what a mistake she is making, but she is adamant...