-THE ENLISTING SERGEANT--COURT
DAY AT CONCORD

About this time my life changed a good deal. Bishop Hancock had died
during the previous winter. Young John was adopted by his Uncle Thomas,
the Boston merchant, and went to Harvard College. Edmund's mother, who
had been a widow several years, married Squire Bowman, and went to live
at his house at the south end of the town. As for myself, I was growing
up, and had my stint of work with the others. In the spring, driving the
oxen, while father held the plough. Then came sowing the land and
planting corn. Then half-hilling and again hilling it. Then helping to
hay, and to gather in the crops. In the fall, picking apples and making
cider. And as the winter came on, I helped to kill and dress a steer
and a couple of hogs, and to put them in the powdering tubs and pickle
them. Then we hung the hams and sides of bacon up in the chimney to be
cured. Beside these things the daily care of the cattle and milking kept
me busy all the time.

And it seemed to me that we got but small return for our labour. We had
a large barn full of cattle and horses, and the loft full of hay for
them. A snug home for ourselves and plenty to eat and drink. We raised
the flax and wool from which our clothes were made. When we killed an ox
or a calf, the hide was tanned to make into shoes.

But we had very little ready money. Whatever dealings we had with our
neighbours was done by exchanging goods,--trading we called it. Trading
was going on all the time.

One morning, as we boys were walking up the road, and had reached the
upper end of Captain Esterbrook's land, Edmund said, "Hello, Ben, look
over there. Captain Joe Esterbrook and Matthew Mead are trading.
Whenever you see one man sitting on a log and another walking up and
down with a straw in his mouth, then they're trading. And the man with
the straw in his mouth is the one anxious to have the trade go through.
See how nervous Matthew is, and Captain Joe, sitting on the log
whittling, looks just as calm and contented as a frog in a puddle. When
you trade, Ben, don't chew a straw, but sit down and whittle. Captain
Joe probably wants the trade to go through as much as Matthew does. But
the whittling keeps his hands and eyes busy, and steadies his nerves. It
gives him a chance to look as if he didn't care a snap about it."

[Sidenote: TRADING]

"I don't think there's any need of Captain Joe whittling," said I. "He's
as keen as a razor at a t