They went to the end door, which Charles flung open with a great air. Behold, there was a sink under one of the windows. It had a wooden spout that went through the logs out doors, a shelf on top to set the water-pails on, and another long shelf over it on which to keep milk-pans or pails, or any other things, which, being in constant use, it was important to have always at hand. Underneath the sink was a closet, with a door hung on the neatest little wooden hinges that you ever saw, of a reddish color, polished so that they shone, and wooden buttons to close it. In addition to this, he had made a little wooden trough of cherry tree, that would hold about a quart, with a handle on one side, that was made out of the solid wood: this was to keep the soap in that was used about the sink.
Sally screamed outright with joy. “O, how glad I am!” she said, and gave Charlie a kiss, that more than paid him for all his labor. “I shall have such a nice place to keep all my kettles under the sink, and my milk-pails and other things on this long shelf. I can wash my dishes right in the sink, and shan’t have to run to the door with every drop of water, and let so much cold in every time I open it. A sink in a log house! O, my! I never thought I should arrive at that. There’s not another one in town. If anybody wants to see a sink, they have got to come on to Elm Island. How came you to think of that, you good boy?”
“Why, the people in England have sinks, and I meant you should. There’s not a woman in England so good as you are.”
Ben stopped up the sink-spout, and turned in two pails of water. He then examined the joints. It didn’t leak a drop. After this he turned his attention to the hinges.
“What did you make these hinges of, Charles? They are almost as handsome as mahogany.”
“Of cherry tree.”
“How did you know that cherry tree was a handsome wood?”
“Because I saw a gun-stock John had, that he said was made of it; and he showed me the tree.”
“How did you give them such a polish?”
“I rubbed them with dogfish skin, and oiled them.”