But she pointed to her baby. "No, no, I have my work. Deal it yourself,
you are the father."
He stood there with two men under his orders, but ready himself to
undertake part of the hard manual toil in order to help on the
realization of his long thought of, ripening scheme. With great prudence
and wisdom he had assured himself a modest livelihood for a year of
effort, by an intelligent scheme of association and advances repayable
out of profits, which would enable him to wait for his first harvest. And
it was his life that he risked on that future crop, should the earth
refuse his worship and his labor. But he was a faithful believer, one who
felt certain of conquering, since love and determination were his.
"Well then, here goes!" he gallantly cried. "May the earth prove a good
mother to us!"
Then he dealt the first blow with his pick.
The work was begun to the left of the old pavilion, in a corner of that
extensive marshy tableland, where little streams coursed on all sides
through the reeds which sprang up everywhere. It was at first simply a
question of draining a few acres by capturing these streams and turning
them into canals, in order to direct them afterwards over the dry sandy
slopes which descended towards the railway line.
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