Hal Winters’ father, Windpeter Winters, was killed when he drunkenly collided with a passing train. Hal grows up to be an ill-tempered man who squanders money on cheap clothes and alcohol. Hal starts working as a farmhand to be close to a school teacher he likes named Nell Gunther.

The narrator clarifies that this story is not about Hal, but about his fellow farmhand, a middle-aged man named Ray Pearson. Ray and Hal have opposing personalities, though they get along fine. One afternoon, Ray wistfully beholds the beautiful fields, filled with memories of his idyllic youth and the early days of his marriage. He protests that life has made a fool out of him. Hal dismisses marriage as something men must go through, and admits he has gotten Nell pregnant. Hal challenges Ray to give him advice on whether he should marry Nell or reject her. Ray is moved to tears, though he cannot bring himself to give Hal the advice he feels he should.

Later that afternoon, Ray’s wife comes to call him from the barn. Still moved by the beauty of the countryside, Ray feels tempted to disrupt his marriage in some terrifying way. Ray’s wife asks him to buy groceries, urging him not to putter or dawdle.