When she turned east she saw a plume of black smoke roll across the sky and the tops of three elevators above the edge of the plain.

It was a portent, a warning of momentous change, in which she and her husband must play their part.

What that part would be she could not tell, but the curtain was going up, and on the whole she approved the stage and scenery.
Helen had been some time in Canada and did not feel daunted.

The sunshine and boisterous winds were bracing; one felt optimistic on the high plains, and the wide outlook gave a sense of freedom.

She had many duties, but did not find them burdensome, or feel the strain of domestic labor she had been warned about.