"Come out here a minute, Artie!" he called.
ARTIE'S RAFT
Artie came reluctantly. His face was red and he looked anxious.
"What do you want?" he asked ungraciously.
"What do you suppose Mrs. Meeker will say when she finds you took half her fence to build a raft?" Fred demanded sternly.
He pointed to a wide gap in the board fence back of the barn which showed the source of Artie's lumber supply.
"I didn't take it," that ambitious youth protested. "It fell down, truly it did, Fred. And I saw it and it was just the right size for a raft. I can put it back, anyway, after I've used it a little."