She drew back as though she had been slapped. "That's a dream, Joe. A bright dream."
"It's not a dream," he said. "It's real land, and real people are going out there to live on it."
She clasped her hands in front of her, and he saw that they were trembling. Yet he made no move to go to her.
"We can't do it," she said. "Don't you see we can't do it? We've got six children to think about."
"Other people are doing it with children," he said doggedly.
"You can't make me do it!" she said wildly. "I'm not going to leave this house—not ever. We'll make out somehow. If need be, Pete Domley will take you on for a year—he owes you that after what happened."
The mighty storm that had been brewing in him broke now, and he lashed out at her. "I'm not going to be a hired man again, do you hear! I finished with that, and I'm not going back to it!"
His voice, harsh and loud, shattered Emma's self-control. She had always known that Joe could be angry, but never before had his anger been directed against herself. She went white, swayed for a moment, and then went unsteadily to the window. She stood clinging to the sill, staring out into the blackness.
He watched her in silence. Then he went to her, turned her around and made her look at him.
"Emma," he said through the pain in his throat. "You don't want me to be a hired man again, do you, Emma?"