“I’m glad too,” said Aunt Georgie, in her matter-of-fact way. “You may quite rely upon us all setting to work to make the best of things, when you men and boys have built us a house to keep off the rain—for I suppose it does rain here sometimes, though we have not seen any.”
“Rain, aunt? Tremendously.”
“Well then, of course you will begin a house soon?”
“To-morrow,” said the captain. “Plenty of work for us, boys.”
“Of course,” said Aunt Georgie. “Well then, we shall soon begin to make things comfortable, and we shall all be very happy and content.”
“Thank you,” said the captain. “I hope every one will take the advantages for what they are worth, and will excuse the inconveniences.”
“I know that Marian will,” said Aunt Georgie; “and as for the girls, we shall be too busy to think of little things. I should have liked for it not to have been quite so lonely.”
“We are too many to feel lonely,” cried the captain, cheerily.
“But I meant about neighbours. How far do you think we are from the nearest neighbours, Edward?”
“Don’t ask me,” he said, merrily. “So far that we cannot quarrel with them.—There, girls, you will have to help and make the house snug as fast as we get it up. To-morrow we will mark it out, and then set up a shed to act as an additional shelter for our stores, which must be unpacked from the wagons. Every one must take his or her department, and as we have that black with us, and he evidently does not mean to go, he will have to work too. By the way, I have not seen him for the last hour or two.”