Raften grinned at him in a peculiar, almost a weak way. Yan had never
seen that expression on his face before, excepting once, and that
was as he shook hands with a noted pugilist just after he had won a
memorable fight. Yan did not know whether he liked it or not.
On the road home Raften talked with unusual freeness about his plans
for his son. (Yan began to realize that the storm had blown over.) He
harped on his favourite theme, "eddication." If Yan had only known,
that was the one word of comfort that Raften found when he saw his big
boy go down: "It's eddication done it. Oh, but he's fine eddicated."
Yan never knew until years afterward, when a grown man and he and
Raften were talking of the old days, that he had been for some time
winning respect from the rough-and-ready farmer, but what finally
raised him to glorious eminence was the hip-throw that he served that
day on Sam.
* * * * *
Raften was all right, Yan believed, but what of Sam? They had not
spoken yet. Yan wished to make up, but it grew harder. Sam had got
over his wrath and wanted a chance, but did not know how.
He had just set down his two buckets after feeding the pigs when
Minnie came toddling out.
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