Chapters 10, 11, and 12 Summary

Kennicott is out of town with a patient for a few days, and Carol is pleased to have the house to herself, so that she can think about the revisions she wants to make to Gopher Prairie. Carol begins to take long walks, which find her way out in the country, and finds little groups of gypsies too poor to live in town. One frosty afternoon in particular, Carol meets a handyman, Mile Bjornstam, who invites her to warm herself in his shanty before making the long walk back to town.

Bjornstam provides Carol with his socialist ideas about government and Gopher Prairie society, and Carol is intrigued to hear such radical thoughts from this unassuming man. Carol is inspired by Bjornstam's thinking and tries to generate interest in the town's residents to implement programs to help those who are more...