wood and tend fire," said
Halstead. "It is a hard job to keep the fire up under the pipe."

"O we will help," cried Ellen. "It's fun, I think, to fetch dry stuff
and make a big blaze."

"How are you off for soap, Ruth?" the Old Squire asked. "We shall want
two bucketfuls of soft soap for the first washings."

"Well, sir, I don't know about that," replied Gram, not well pleased.
"My soap barrel is getting low; and I have not been able to have Olive
Witham come to make soap yet, nor clean house. I think that a bucketful
will be all I can spare you."

"That will be small soap for seventy-six sheep," remarked Addison.
"There ought to be a pint to every sheep, half a pint at least. You may
work and work, and squeeze and squeeze, but you cannot get their thick
fleeces clean unless you put on plenty of soap."

"Murches' folks never use soap," said Halstead. "The boys just fling the
sheep into the pond and souse them round a few times, then let them
crawl out. They don't bother with warm water and soap. Willis catches
the sheep and pitches them in; and his father and Ben souse them. They
stand in the water up to their waists all the time; but I saw Murch take
a sly pull at a little bottle which he had set behind a stump on the
shore."

"Murch does not half wash his sheep," Addison remarked. "When they
carried their wool to market last year, it all had to go at twenty-eight
cents per pound, as unwashed wool, when clean-washed brought forty
cents. I don't like to stand in cold water two hours at a time, either.
A man who takes a drink of liquor every half hour can stand it, maybe;
but all people don't think it best to drink liquor."

"I suppose you would stand and chatter your teeth two hours before you
would take a swallow of whiskey," said Halstead with a laugh.

"I would warm the water," retorted Addison. "Certain people we know
would stand in cold water just for an excuse to get a drink."

It was manifest that Addison had the best of the argument, and that the
Old Squire agreed with him.

"Let's get an early start with our housework," Theodora made haste to
say, "so that we can all go. You must go, too, Gram. It is fun to see
the long fires under the pipe."

"Yes, Gram, I want you to go and see how finely my new water-warmer
works," said Addison. "The Edwardses are going to drive their flock over
here and wash them at the 'Little Sea' this year, so as to try the
warm-water plan. They will come after we finish, i