o beheld the chaos would have turned away discouraged.
But not so Ted! The disorder was of no consequence in his eyes. Through
all its dinginess and confusion he saw that the roof was tight, the
windows whole, and the interior quite capable of being swept out,
scrubbed and put in order. That was all he wanted to know. Why, the
place could be made into a little heaven! Already he could see it
transformed into a dwelling of the utmost comfort. He had remodelled
many a worse spot,--the barn loft in Vermont, for example, and made it
habitable. One had only to secure a table, a chair or two, build a bunk
and get a mattress, and the trick was turned.

How proud he should be to have such a dwelling for his own!

He could hardly restrain himself from rolling up his sleeves and going
to work then and there. Fearing, however, that Mr. Wharton might be
awaiting his report, he reluctantly closed the door again, turned the
key in it, and hurried back to the manager's office.

"Well," inquired the elder man, spinning around in his desk chair as
the boy entered and noting the glow in the youthful face, "how did you
find things at the shack? Any hope in the place?"

"Hope!" repeated Ted. "Why, sir, the house is corking! Of course, it is
dirty now but I could clean it up and put it in bully shape. All I'd
need would be to build a bunk, get a few pieces of furniture, and the
place would be cosy as anything. If you'll say the word, I'll start
right in to-night after work and----"

"Why wait until to-night?" came drily from the manager.

"Why--er--I thought perhaps--you see there is the corn----"

"Never mind the corn," Mr. Wharton interrupted.

"You mean I could go right ahead now?" asked Ted eagerly.

"Certainly. You are doing this for our accommodation, not for your own,
and there is no earthly reason why you should perform the work outside
your regular hours."

"But it is for my accommodation, too," put in the lad with
characteristic candor.

"I am very glad if it happens to be," nodded Mr. Wharton. "So much the
better. But at any rate, you are not going to take your recreation time
for the job. Now before you go, tell me your ideas as to furnishings.
You will need some things, of course."

"Not much," Ted answered quickly. "As I said, I can knock together a
bunk and rough table myself. If I could just have a couple of
chairs----"

Mr. Wharton smiled at the modesty of the request.

"Suppose we leave the furnishing unti