‘You can “hunh” all you like,’ said Ed. ‘I know you’re thinking that I don’t sound like my daddy, but the reason for that is that I’m not my daddy. He was a farmer, but I’m a businessman, and the way this farm was falling to pieces when I took over, that’s probably just as well. My daddy was very good at what he did, but when it came to the financial jiggery-pokery, he relied too much on people like you. He didn’t know a floor price from a floor mop.’

‘Mr Hardesty,’ said Senator Jones, with exaggerated patience, ‘I have to tell you that I’m very sorry for you, and that I’d really like to help. But the truth of the matter is, I’m very busy right now on this soybean problem in Iowa, and I really can’t see that I’m going to be able to spend the time on one single disgruntled wheat farmer from Kansas.’

‘All right,’ said Ed. ‘If that’s the way you feel, I’m going straight to the papers with the facts on the wheat-dumping scandal.’

‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ snarled Senator Jones. ‘Nancy Drew? Don’t come at me with that going-to-the-papers shit.’

‘You think it’s shit?’ asked Ed, although he was trembling with the tension of what he was doing. ‘You read it in print in the Washington Post, and then tell me it’s shit.’ There was silence. Fifteen seconds, thirty seconds of utter silence. Then Senator Jones said, ‘This is a state-wide problem, right? As I understand it.’

‘Kansas and North Dakota. That’s what I heard on the news.’

‘Well – if it’s a state-wide problem – I may be able to pressure for federal emergency aid. I may be able to arrange a special financial allocation to help farmers wiped out by the blight.’

‘That sounds more like it.’

‘I can’t promise anything, and I think we ought to meet. I’ll have to get my assistant to do some digging on the background, too. You have to understand that I’m coming into this cold.’

‘So am I,’ said Ed. ‘I only found the first traces of blight yesterday evening.’

‘All right,’ said Senator Jones. ‘Is there any chance you can get down to Fall River at the week-end? I have a cabin there, by the lake.’

‘It’s possible.’

‘Then let me call you tomorrow, or maybe Thursday, and I’ll be more in the picture by then.’

‘Good,’ said Ed.’

‘I’ll tell you something,’ said Senator Jones, ‘you certainly inherited one of your father’s most important qualities.’

‘Oh, yes?’

‘Oh, yes. You can bluster like hell. Now, give me your number so that I can call you back.’