As Tom overtook them he laughed also at seeing the fruit in Nellie’s arms. After dinner he took her to the cellar and showed her the great bins of apples without a flaw that were stored for winter, besides all the vegetables and all kinds of fruit; then they went to the parlor, where the rest of the family had assembled.
A low fire burned in the grate to make the room cheerful as it had turned chilly.
Scoris, the eldest unmarried sister, was trying to interest Geron’s wife in the society, but in spite of her own enthusiasm, Grace did not seem to respond. Just at this time Scoris found it hard to talk on any other subject for any length of time, it seemed so all-important to her. Helen, the other sister, and Nellie exchanged glances, both realizing that there was a prejudice against the society in the home circle they had not expected. Scoris, with Tom, had been the means of starting the society, which had grown so fast that Tom had finally sold out his law partnership so that he could devote his whole time to it. In the city almost every one responded that they had been able to reach, and here were their own relatives absolutely indifferent.
Several times during the evening Nellie would ask questions about the abundance of things that were thrown away or given to the animals. Geron finally explained that all those things were of less value to them than the labor would amount to. “We live so far away from the cities that it doesn’t pay to ship them. Tom’s idea is the best, evidently, for he intends to bring the people to the farms where they can secure all the surplus. You will have your hands full, I can promise you. If I wasn’t so far away I would advise you to take my place; farming don’t pay any too well.”
Tom answered: “You must remember I am not starting a farm, merely using the land to provide the necessities at first hand. The object of the society is to secure homes for its members, then food at first cost, while it aims to give them employment as nearly as possible according to their talents and the society’s needs. We take the farms to build our town because it has to be started under new conditions, for we must compete with the old money system for many years.”
CHAPTER II.
“Tom,” Geron said, after arising and moving around aimlessly, “you are going to waste your time. The trusts are too strong for any one man to undertake to down them.”
Tom, who had been sitting with his chair tipped back, reached out to the table to balance himself before he answered, then he stood up, stretching out his arms and yawning, said, “I am not trying to down them. You remember the story of the lion and the mouse, don’t you, Geron?”
“Yes.”
“Well, for the sake of the case at point, I will liken the masses to the lion; I will merely pose as the mouse, as it nibbled the cord that let the lion go free.”