Mrs. Hopewell, who had divorced her husband long ago, needed someone to walk over the fields with her; and when Joy had to be impressed for these services, her remarks were usually so ugly and her face so glum that Mrs. Hopewell would say, "If you can't come pleasantly, I don't want you at all," to which the girl, standing square and rigid-shouldered with her neck thrust slightly forward, would reply, "If you want me, here I am—LIKE I AM." Based on Mrs. Hopewell's attitude toward the fields, it is reasonable to infer that the story takes place on a farm with many field hands and employees. on a wide, isolated expanse of farmland. in a small town where everyone is friendly toward one another. in a deserted town in which mysterious events occur.