ter-killed trees, pests, poor
years, low prices, and a hundred other factors which taken together make
those actually used entirely misleading. But the one big factor which
the inexperienced invariably refuse to consider at all, is that
inexperience itself.

"I don't want to discourage you," he said, "but you know, don't you,
that you can't do this work yourself. Hiring will eat up your profit."

"But there must be a margin. You hire men yourself."

"I hire two men to about three hundred acres. You are thinking of hiring
about one man for ten. At that rate I should have thirty men, and the
land wouldn't pay for them."

"But I could hire a man as I needed him, and what improvements I make
will increase the value of the place. And when I get more cleared--"

Metaphorically, Angus threw up his hands. It was no use. Also it was
impossible to tell her the truth about the property under the
circumstances. With actual experience she might give up the idea. All he
could do was to make the experiment as cheap as possible for her.

"Well," he said, "when the winter breaks up, if you're of the same mind,
I'll do your breaking and disking for you, if you like, and seed it down
to something. I can clean out the spring and run a ditch and fix it for
irrigating. You needn't bother with water from the creek for a few
acres. While I'm about it I might as well do the fencing and fork out
the sods for a garden patch. When the sleighing is good I'll haul over a
few loads of well-rotted manure."

"Thank you," she said, "but--"

"Oh, that's all right," Angus continued. "I guess you don't know much
about planting trees and garden truck. I'll attend to that. I may as
well order your seeds while I'm getting my own. I can run a cultivator
through the garden now and then in the evenings. I can fix you up with
all the tools you'll need. Then I can give you a milk cow, a nice
quiet--"

"Wait, wait!" she interrupted as Angus began to think of other items.
"What are all these things and all this work going to cost?"

"Cost?" Angus echoed blankly. "Why, nothing, of course. They don't
amount to anything."

"Don't they? It seems to me you're calmly arranging to do all my work
yourself--the work you said I'd have to hire done."

"These are just a few little chores for a neighbor. Nobody would think
of charging for them. We sort of swap work about here."

"But what work could I do for you?"

"Huh!" Angus hesitated, at a loss for an answer