Rupert took them down, and read them that night before he went to bed.
And each day he saw a new horizon; and the sweet-faced Norwegian was not
the least factor in this continued change of mental vision. "God bless
her," he said to himself, "God has sent her to me for a purpose;" and he
began to add to his prayers that he might so live that he would be
worthy of the blessings which, seemingly, were coming his way.




IX.


"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
alone"--_James 2:17._

Chamogo Valley lies on the edge of the great arid region of America. At
the time of Rupert Ames' arrival in the valley, full crops were never
certain, and during some years, rain was so scarce that there were no
crops at all. The Chicago real estate dealer who had sold Mr. Janson his
land had not enlightened him on this fact, and so he had already lost
the best part of two years' work by failure of crops. Rupert Ames
learned of all this from Mr. Janson, and then he wondered why advantage
was not taken of the stream in the bottom of the valley for irrigation
purposes.

One day--it was near the end of the harvest, and they were pitting their
last potatoes--Rupert asked Mr. Janson if the adjoining lands could be
bought.