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“Co Ant his coat

Elsa didn’t bother with her own coat She put on her galoshes and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders

They stepped out into the busy camp Now that the threat of frost had passed, men were busy in the fields Tractors worked ceaselessly, readying the soil, churning it up, planting seeds

“It makes me think of Grandpa,” Loreda said

They all stopped, listened to the sound of the tractors’in the air

“It does,” Elsa said, feeling a wave of homesickness

They kept walking, three abreast, until they reached the school tents

“’Bye, Ma Good luck with relief,” Ant said, running off

Loreda ducked into her tent

Elsa stood there a hing, of teachers telling them to take their seats If she closed her eyes—which she did, just for a ine a whole different world

Finally, she turned away Paths between the tents and cabins had been worn into ruts by hundreds of feet At the bathrooot in line and waited her turn

It wasn’t a bad wait at this time of day—less than twenty minutes for the toilets She wanted to take a shower, but with only two showers, the as always an hour or more

She went into her cabin and washed the breakfast dishes and put theed apple crate that was their cupboard In the past

She made her bed and put on her coat and left the cabin

In town, a long line of sad-looking men and women snaked in front of the state relief office Most didn’t look up from their own clasped hands They were Midwesterners or Texans or Southerners,on the dole