ram went about the yard starting the day's work for his men,
then came back to the boys.

"Now, just bring the bark over to the platform and we'll look
it over and sort it," suggested the boat builder.

Dick & Co. carried their loads over to the platform, where they
cut the lashings.

"We'll make three heaps of the stuff," Driggs proposed. "One
heap will be the worthless stuff that has to be thrown away.
Another heap will be for the pieces that are good but small; they'll
do for patches. The third heap will be the whole, sound strips.
Mebbe I'd better do all the sorting myself."

So the boys stood by, watching Driggs as he sorted the bundles
of bark with the speed of a man who knows just what he wants.
A quantity of the bark went on to the "worthless" heap, yet there
was a goodly amount in each of the other piles by the time that
the boat builder was through sorting it.

"You've done first rate, boys," he announced at last. "Is there
much more of that bark on Katson's Hill?"

"We ought to be able to bring in fifty times as much bark as we've
brought already," Dick answered.

"I wish you would," Driggs retorted.

"And give up the whole of our summer vacation?" Danny Grin asked
anxiously.

"Well, there is that side to it, after all," Driggs admitted quickly.
"It must be a tough job on your backs, too. But, boys, I wouldn't
mind having a lot of this stuff, for birch bark canoes are coming
into favor again. The only trouble is that birch bark is hard
to get, these days, and costs a lot to boot. So it makes birchbark
canoes come pretty high. At the same time, there are plenty
of wealthy folks who would pay me well for a birch-bark canoe.
Now, I know that you boys, owning a canoe that will soon be in
the water, won't be anxious to give up your whole summer to doing
jobs for me. But couldn't you bring in a lot more bark if you
had a team of horses and a good-sized wagon?"

"Of course we could," Dick nodded. "But we haven't any horses
or a wagon."

"I was thinking," Driggs went on slowly. "I can spare my gray
team and the big green wagon. Any of you boys know how to drive?"

"All of us do," Dick answered, "though I guess Tom could handle
a team better than any of the rest of us."

"Then suppose you take my team out at six o'clock to-morrow morning?"
Driggs suggested. "I'll have to charge you four dollars a day
for it, but I'll take it in bark as payment. With the wagon you'll
be able to bring in