Mr. Whitman, having sold his large oxen to the drover, to be delivered in a week, desired, before parting with them, to break up a piece of rough land with them and the steers, and also to plough a piece of old ground that had been planted with corn that year, and that two horses could plough. All this work must be done speedily, as the ground was likely to shut up.
In the evening the family were seated around the fire, Bertie superintending James who was writing, when Mr. Whitman said,—
“Father, I don’t see but I must hire a hand. I want to plough a piece of corn-ground for wheat, and I want very much to break up that rough piece before I give up the old oxen. By hiring some one to drive for James to plough for wheat I could accomplish it. After the land was struck out, Bertie could drive the oxen and Peter tend the plough for me.”
“Peter is not strong enough to tend the plough in that ground. There will be roots to cut, stumps to drag out of the way, great turfs as big as a blanket to turn over; it needs a strong man such as this poor old worn-out creature was when you was a boy. But I can drive the oxen, and then you can have both boys to tend plough.”
“I never will allow that; you cannot travel over that rough ground. I can stop the team once in a while, and help Peter.”
James, who had listened to this conversation, gave Bertie a hint to go into the porch, and when they were alone, said,—
“Bertie, I can take Frank and Dick, and plough that ground alone.”
“You can’t do that, James; nobody here ever ploughs alone with horses. They do sometimes with old steady oxen.”
“Yes, I can. In England most of the ploughmen drive themselves. The corn-butts have been all taken off, and the plough won’t clog much.”
James resumed his writing, and Bertie soon made the matter known to his father, who said,—