m something
about his beetle and wedges.

"You see I am going to split, Thanny. I am going to split some kindling
wood for Dorothy. I shall put my wedges into the wood, and then drive
them in with my beetle, and that will make the wood split open more and
more; and perhaps I will let you split a little, Thanny."

By this time Rollo had got out to the shed, and he put his beetle and
wedges down upon the floor, while he went away to get some boards to
split. There were some old boards behind the barn, which Jonas told him
were to be split up to burn, and from these he chose one, which was not
very long, and dragged it to the shed. He placed this upon the
saw-horse, and then sawed off a piece from one end, about as long as he
thought it would be well to have the sticks of kindling wood. After he
had sawed off one piece, he was going to split it up, but then he
reflected that it would be more systematic and workmanlike to finish his
sawing first. So he sawed off another, and another piece, until the
board was all sawed up into short pieces. He placed these together
neatly in a pile, and then taking one of them, he sat down upon the
floor, with Thanny, and prepared to try his beetle and wedges.

"Now," said Rollo, "I think I must have a knife,--some old knife or
other,--to make a little place to drive my wedge in. Thanny, why can't
you go and ask Dorothy to let me have a knife? Come, that's a good boy."

So Nathan got up off of the floor, where he had been sitting by Rollo's
side, and went in for a knife. In a few minutes he came out, and
asked Rollo if a broken one would do. He had brought out a broken knife.
The handle was whole and strong, but the blade was broken in two, about
in the middle.

"Why, yes," said Rollo, taking the knife and looking at it, "I believe
that will do.

"Yes," he continued, "I shall like this better, for I can keep this all
the time, with my wedges. And besides, I believe that I can drive it
better."

So Rollo held the edge of the knife to the end of the board, and then
drove it in a little way, with his little beetle. This made a small
opening or cleft in the angle or edge of the board at one end. Then he
began to drive in his wooden wedge, telling Nathan to look carefully and
see when it began to split. Nathan stood near him, stooping down, with
his hands upon his knees, and looking on with great attention.

[Illustration]

Rollo drove in his wedge, and it proceeded admirably. The woo