to take a lane
that they would come to on the left, and then go through a piece of woods
and across a field till they came to a creek; then ford the creek and keep
straight on, and they would be in sight of the house. It did not seem
strange to Frank that they should be going to visit a boy without knowing
where he lived, but afterwards he was not surprised when Dave Black's
folks did not appear to expect them. They kept on, and did as the
blacksmith told them, and soon enough they got to a two-story log-cabin,
with a man in front of it working at a wheat-fan, for it was nearly time
to thresh the wheat. The man said he was Dave Black's father; he did not
act as if he was very glad to see them, but he told them to put their
horses in the barn, and he said that Dave was out in the pasture hauling
rails.

Frank thought that was a queer way of spending the Fourth of July, but he
did not say anything, and on their way out to the pasture Jake explained
that Dave's father was British, and did not believe much in the Fourth of
July, anyway. They found Dave easily enough, and he answered Jake's
"Hello!" with another when the boys came up. He had a two-horse wagon, and
he was loading it with rails from a big pile; there were two dogs with
him, and when they saw the boys they came towards them snarling and
ruffling the hair on their backs. Jake said not to mind them--they would
not bite; but they snuffed so close to Frank's bare legs that he wished
Dave would call them off. They slunk away, though, when they heard him
speak to the boys; and then Jake Milrace told Dave Black who Frank was,
and they began to feel acquainted, especially when Jake said they had come
to spend the Fourth of July with Dave.

He said, "First rate," and he explained that he had his foot tied up the
way they saw because he had a stone-bruise which he had got the first day
he began to go barefoot in the spring; but now it was better. He said
there was a bully swimming-hole in the creek, and he would show them where
it was as soon as he had got done hauling his rails. The boys took that
for a kind of hint, and they pulled off their roundabouts and set to work
with him.

Frank thought it was not exactly like the Fourth, but he did not say
anything, and they kept loading up the rails and hauling them to the edge
of the field where Dave's father was going to build the fence, and then
unloading them, and going back to the pile for more. It seemed to Frank
tha