rescue some unfortunate farmer from the
clutches of Wick Cutter, the Black Hawk
money-lender. Grandfather said Frances Har-
ling was as good a judge of credits as any
banker in the county. The two or three men
who had tried to take advantage of her in a
deal acquired celebrity by their defeat. She
knew every farmer for miles about; how much
land he had under cultivation, how many
cattle he was feeding, what his liabilities
were. Her interest in these people was more
than a business interest. She carried them all
in her mind as if they were characters in a
book or a play.

When Frances drove out into the country
on business, she would go miles out of her
way to call on some of the old people, or to
see the women who seldom got to town. She
was quick at understanding the grandmothers
who spoke no English, and the most reticent
and distrustful of them would tell her their
story without realizing they were doing so.
She went to country funerals and weddings
in all weathers. A farmer's daughter who was
to be married could count on a wedding pres-
ent from Frances Harling.

In August the Harlings' Danish cook had

[[171]]

p170 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p171w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p172

v?