Part 2 Chapter 1 Summary

Sixteen years later, Alexandra's plan has come to fruition. The Bergsons own hundreds of acres with a large farmhouse, sheds and other buildings set up like a little village. Yet the furnishing and such in the farmhouse seem unfinished, as if Alexandra's true home is outdoors, not inside.

All the farms in the area have become prosperous. The grain is so heavy it bends toward the blade. There is something "frank and joyous and young" in this country now. The hard times have passed. There is telephone service and other amenities.

Emil is now twenty-one years old. On this day he is mowing the graveyard where his parents are buried. He is now a strong young man who wins athletic awards at school. A girl named Marie Shabata stops to flirt with him. She tells him she is excited about a...