"Aw, maw—don't you start nothing. Not no more to-night, maw."
She half rose from her chair. For a second she leaned stiffly against the table. Then she slipped back into her seat, her whole body limp and relaxed.
"I ain't going to start nothing, Benny. I ain't even going to talk about this here farm. Honest—I ain't."
"Aw—this—here—farm—!"
"I've gave the best years of my life to it."
She spoke the words defiantly.
"You said that all afore, maw."
"It's true," she murmured. "Terrible true. And I done it for you, Benny. I wanted to be giving you something. It's all I'd got to give you, Benny. There's many a man, Ben, that's glad of his farm. And grateful, too. There's many that makes it pay."
"And what'll I do if it does pay, maw? What'll I do then?"
"I—I—don't know, Benny. It's only just beginning, now."