Taming the Field Part 2

While William Mercer was turning a profit, the sixth tractor in Thomas Bell's village was nearly causing a riot.

The idea had started with good intentions. A dozen small farmers had chipped in together to cover the tractor's fuel and hired a local youth to drive it. But farming does not run on a tidy office timetable. Rain had delayed the spring planting, which meant every single farmer suddenly needed their fields plowed before the next storm rolled in.

When Ernest, Arthur, and Hollen arrived at the village hall, the shouting could be heard from down the gravel lane.

Inside, twelve men were leaning over a long pine table, red-faced and waving their hats. Thomas Bell was backed against the wall, looking completely exhausted.

"You had the machine for three days!" an older man yelled.

"It rained for two of them!" another shouted back. "The ground was soup! Am I supposed to plow mud?"

"That isn't my fault! My seed is going bad in the sacks!"