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- Фрэнк Норрис
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- Стр. 26/416
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“
If
it
was
all
like
that
,
sir
,
hey
?
”
observed
Phelps
.
Harran
put
his
chin
in
the
air
.
“
Bread
would
be
as
good
as
cake
,
then
,
”
he
answered
,
going
from
sack
to
sack
,
inspecting
the
contents
and
consulting
the
tags
affixed
to
the
mouths
.
“
Hello
,
”
he
remarked
,
“
here
’
s
a
red
wheat
.
Where
did
this
come
from
?
”
“
That
’
s
that
red
Clawson
we
sowed
to
the
piece
on
Four
,
north
the
Mission
Creek
,
just
to
see
how
it
would
do
here
.
We
didn
’
t
get
a
very
good
catch
.
”
“
We
can
’
t
do
better
than
to
stay
by
White
Sonora
and
Propo
,
”
remarked
Harran
.
“
We
’
ve
got
our
best
results
with
that
,
and
European
millers
like
it
to
mix
with
the
Eastern
wheats
that
have
more
gluten
than
ours
.
That
is
,
if
we
have
any
wheat
at
all
next
year
.
”
A
feeling
of
discouragement
for
the
moment
bore
down
heavily
upon
him
.
At
intervals
this
came
to
him
and
for
the
moment
it
was
overpowering
.
The
idea
of
“
what
’
s
-
the
-
use
”
was
upon
occasion
a
veritable
oppression
.
Everything
seemed
to
combine
to
lower
the
price
of
wheat
.
The
extension
of
wheat
areas
always
exceeded
increase
of
population
;
competition
was
growing
fiercer
every
year
.
The
farmer
’
s
profits
were
the
object
of
attack
from
a
score
of
different
quarters
.
It
was
a
flock
of
vultures
descending
upon
a
common
prey
—
the
commission
merchant
,
the
elevator
combine
,
the
mixing
-
house
ring
,
the
banks
,
the
warehouse
men
,
the
labouring
man
,
and
,
above
all
,
the
railroad
.
Steadily
the
Liverpool
buyers
cut
and
cut
and
cut
.
Everything
,
every
element
of
the
world
’
s
markets
,
tended
to
force
down
the
price
to
the
lowest
possible
figure
at
which
it
could
be
profitably
farmed
.
Now
it
was
down
to
eighty
-
seven
.
It
was
at
that
figure
the
crop
had
sold
that
year
;
and
to
think
that
the
Governor
had
seen
wheat
at
two
dollars
and
five
cents
in
the
year
of
the
Turko
-
Russian
War
!
He
turned
back
to
the
house
after
giving
Phelps
final
directions
,
gloomy
,
disheartened
,
his
hands
deep
in
his
pockets
,
wondering
what
was
to
be
the
outcome
.
So
narrow
had
the
margin
of
profit
shrunk
that
a
dry
season
meant
bankruptcy
to
the
smaller
farmers
throughout
all
the
valley
.
He
knew
very
well
how
widespread
had
been
the
distress
the
last
two
years
.
With
their
own
tenants
on
Los
Muertos
,
affairs
had
reached
the
stage
of
desperation
.
Derrick
had
practically
been
obliged
to
“
carry
”
Hooven
and
some
of
the
others
.
The
Governor
himself
had
made
almost
nothing
during
the
last
season
;
a
third
year
like
the
last
,
with
the
price
steadily
sagging
,
meant
nothing
else
but
ruin
.
But
here
he
checked
himself
.
Two
consecutive
dry
seasons
in
California
were
almost
unprecedented
;
a
third
would
be
beyond
belief
,
and
the
complete
rest
for
nearly
all
the
land
was
a
compensation
.
They
had
made
no
money
,
that
was
true
;
but
they
had
lost
none
.
