. And so, amid hardships still, and lack of
opportunity and absence of many elements of culture, a sturdy,
independent, God-fearing people struggled with the soil, while they lifted
up faces full of hope and determination to the skies above them. What of
the prairies they could subdue they bent to their service. What they could
not overcome they defied the right to overcome them. There were no lines
of social caste. They were needy or full together. They shared their
pleasures; together they laughed at calamities; and they comforted one
another in every sorrow.

A new town was platted on the claim that Dr. Carey had preempted where the
upper fork of Grass River crossed the old Sunflower trail. The town
founders ruled Hans Wyker out of a membership among them. Moreover, they
declared their intentions of forever beating back all efforts at saloon
building within the corporation's limits, making Wykerton their sworn
enemy for all time. In the new town, which was a ten-by-ten shack of
vertical boards, a sod stable, and two dugout homes, the very first sale
of lots, for cash, too, was made to Darley Champers & Co., dealers in real
estate, mortgages, loans, etc.

One summer Sabbath afternoon, three years after the grasshopper raid of
dreadful memory, Asher came again to the little grave in the Grass River
graveyard where other graves were consecrating the valley in other hearts.
This time he bore in his arms a dimpled, brown-eyed baby boy who cooed and
smiled as only babies can and flung his little square fists aimlessly
about in baby joy of living.

"We'll wait here, Thaine, till your mother comes from Bennington's to tell
us about the little baby that just came to our settlement only two days
ago and staked out a claim in a lot of hearts."

Little Thaine had found that his fist and his mouth belonged together, so
he offered no comment. Asher sat down on the warm sod with the baby on his
knees.

"This is your little sister's grave, Thaine. She staid with us less than a
day, but we loved her then and we love her still. Her name was to have
been Mercy Pennington Aydelot, after the sweet Quaker girl your two
great-great-grandfathers both loved. Such a big name for such a tiny girl!
She isn't here, Thaine. This is just the little sod house she holds as her
claim. She is in a beautiful mansion now. But she binds us always to the
Grass River Valley because she has a claim here. We couldn't bear to go
away and leave her little