The honest people did not seem to regard
him in the least as a stranger; they discussed their family
interests and troubles and hopes before him, and in a little while
it seemed as if he had known them always.
How faithfully he worked! How glad and tired he felt when night
came, and the hay-mow was filled, and the great stacks grew beside
the barn! But ah! the haying came to an end, and on the last
evening, at supper, everybody was constrained and silent. Even
Susan looked grave and thoughtful.
"Jacob," said the farmer, finally, "I wish we could keep you until
wheat harvest; but you know we are poor, and can't afford it.
Perhaps you could--"
He hesitated; but Jacob, catching at the chance and obeying his own
unselfish impulse, cried: "Oh, yes, I can; I'll be satisfied with
my board, till the wheat's ripe."
Susan looked at him quickly, with a bright, speaking face.
"It's hardly fair to you," said the farmer.
"But I like to be here so much!" Jacob cried. "I like--all of
you!"
"We DO seem to suit," said the farmer, "like as one family.
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