en girls, they are apt to grow to your liking."

On Thursday I saw Anderson and the new team safely started for the farm.
Then Polly, the new girl, and I took train for the most interesting spot
on earth.

Soon after we arrived I lost sight of Polly, who seemed to have business
of her own. I found the mason and his men at work on the cellar wall,
which was almost to the top of the ground. The house was on wheels, and
had made most of its journey. The house mover was in a rage because he
had to put the house on a hole instead of on solid ground, as he had
expected. "I have sent for every stick of timber and every cobbling
block I own, to get this house over that hole; there's no money in this
job for me; you ought to have dug the cellar after the house was
placed," said he.

I made friends with him by agreeing to pay $30 more for the job. The
house was safely placed, and by Saturday night the foundation walls were
finished.

Sam and Zeb had made a good beginning on the ploughing, the teams were
doing well for green ones, and the men seemed to understand what good
ploughing meant. Thompson and Johnson had spent parts of two days in the
potato patches in deadly conflict with the bugs.

"We've done for most of them this time," said Thompson, "but we'll have
to go over the ground again by Monday."

The next piece of work was to clear the north forty (lots 1 to 5) of all
fences, stumps, stones, and rubbish, and all buildings except the
cottage. The barn was to be torn down, and the horses were to be
temporarily stabled in the old barn on the home lot. Useful timbers and
lumber were to be snugly piled, the manure around the barns was to be
spread under the old apple trees, which were in lot No. 1, and
everything not useful was to be burned. "Make a clean sweep, and leave
it as bare as your hand," I told Thompson. "It must be ready for the
plough as soon as possible."

Judson, the man with the buggy, reported at noon. He came with bag and
baggage, but not with buggy, and said that he came to stay.

"Thompson," said I, "you are to put Judson in charge of the roan team to
follow the boys when they are far enough ahead of him. In the meantime
he and the team will be with you and Johnson in this house-cleaning. By
to-morrow night Anderson and the new team will get in, and they, too,
will help on this job. I want you to take personal charge of the gray
team,--neither Johnson nor Anderson is the right sort to handle horses.