ould get along without Sister," ruminated Mother
Atterson, shaking her head.

"And as for Lem Camp--bless you! he won't eat more'n a fly, and who else
would give him houseroom? Why, Hiram, I just had to bring him with me.
If I hadn't, I'd felt just as conscience-stricken as though I'd moved
and left a cat behind in an empty house!"

CHAPTER XIV. GETTING IN THE EARLY CROPS

Mother Atterson had breakfast the next morning by lamplight, because the
truckman wanted to make an early start.

Hiram had already begun early rising, however, for the farmer who does
not get up before the sun in the spring needs must do his chores at
night by lantern-light. The eight-hour law can never be a rule on the
farm.

But Sister was up, too, and out of the house, running as wild as a
rabbit. Hiram caught her in the barnyard trying to clamber on the cow's
back to ride her about the enclosure. Sister was afraid of nothing that
lived and walked, having all the courage of ignorance.

She found that she could not in safety clamber over the pig-lot fence
and catch one of the shoats. Old Mother Hog ran at her with open mouth
and Sister came back from that expedition with a torn frock and some new
experience.

"I never knew anything so fat could run," she confided to Hiram. "Old
Missus Poundly, who lived on our block, and weighed three hundred
pounds, couldn't run, I bet!"

Mr. Camp was not disturbed by Mrs. Atterson, but was allowed to sleep as
long as he liked, while she kept a little breakfast hot for him and the
coffeepot on the back of the stove.

The old lady became interested at once in all Hiram had done toward
beginning the spring work. She learned about the seed in the window
boxes (some of them were already breaking the soil) about watering them
and covering them properly and immediately took those duties off Hiram's
hands.

"If Sister an' me can't do the light chores around this place and leave
you to 'tend to the bigger things, then we ain't no good and had better
go back to the boarding house," she announced.

"Oh, Mis' Atterson! You wouldn't go back to town, would you?" pleaded
Sister. "Why, there's real hens--and a cow that will give milk bimeby,
Hi says--and a horse that wiggles his ears and talks right out loud when
he's hungry, for I heard him--and pigs that squeal and run, an' they're
jest as fat as butter----"

"Well, to stay here we've all got to work, Sister," declared her
mistress. "So get at them dishes n