This work of filling was very slow, of course, and when Duncan's watch showed ten o'clock, he was well-nigh ready to despair. Under the strain of his anxiety he had forgotten to take any breakfast, and the prolonged exposure to water and rain had so far depressed his vitality that he now found a chill creeping over him. He hurried to Barbara's fire for some coffee and a few mouthfuls of greatly needed food. There for the first time he saw what Barbara's promised dinner was to be. The two separated halves of a dressed hog hung before and partly over the fire, roasting.
"Where on earth did you get that?" he asked in astonishment.
"Bob got it last night," she answered, "and dressed it himself."
"But where, and how?"
"I don't know yet. He laughs when I ask questions. I'm sorely afraid Bob stole the hog from some farmer. I sent him out with some money to buy whatever meat he could find, for I saw that the men must have substantial food. He came back about daylight, and told me he had a dressed hog 'out dar in de bushes.' He gave me back all the money I had given him, and, as I say, he simply laughs when I ask questions. I'll make him tell me all about it this afternoon. If he stole the hog, we can pay for it. And meanwhile the men shall have their dinner. How is the work getting on?"
"Rapidly—but not rapidly enough, I fear. I must hurry back now."
"I'll go with you," said the girl. "Bob can watch the roasting," for Bob had reappeared at the fire.
"But you can't go with me," replied Duncan. "The water's knee deep, and more, between here and the crib."
"It can't make me any wetter than I am now," replied the resolute girl, as she set off in Duncan's company.
At the crib she studied the situation critically. She knew nothing of engineering, of course, but she had an abundance of practical common sense, and in most of the affairs of this life, common sense goes a long way as a substitute for skill.