There was a little mist in the boy's eyes as he saw, in memory, the pleasant little circle about the table at home; his father reading, his mother sewing, and the baby building a wonderful house of blocks.
"Wa'al, what's th' news?" asked Mr. Kimball, in his deep hearty voice, and Roger told him what his mother had written.
It was not long before supper was over, and, while Mrs. Kimball and Clara were clearing away the dishes, Roger, with his uncle and cousin, went out to the barn, where, by the light of a lantern, the two wagons were loaded up, ready for an early start on the next day's trip. Mr. Kimball was to take his own horses and wagon to Syracuse with a load of produce, while Roger and Adrian would have Truem Wright's rig.
The last basket of grapes, the last crate of honey, and the celery, potatoes, and cabbage had been piled securely on the vehicles. Mr. Kimball pulled out his big silver watch.
"Hello!" he cried. "Nine o'clock. Time to go t' bed, fer we'll hev t' be up early in th' mornin'. Skedaddle, all on ye!"
The boys hurried to the house, laughing and shouting in anticipation of the pleasant trip next day.
That night Roger dreamed he was swimming in a big green pond, while a swarm of bees carrying bunches of grapes flew buzzing after him. He thought a whole hive of the insects were about to settle down on him, when he was caught by a big fish that shook him in its mouth as a dog might a rat. Then he awoke suddenly to find that the shaking was being done by his cousin Adrian, who stood bending over him, pulling him by the arm. A lamp burned in the room.
"What's the matter? Is the house afire?" asked Roger, as he jumped up in alarm.
"Land sakes, no," said Adrian, "but if we're going to Tully with the grapes, we'll have to start pretty soon. Dad went some time ago. Dress, and we'll have breakfast."
Roger looked out of the window while putting his clothes on. It was just getting faintly light, and some stars were still to be seen. From the kitchen there came the good smell of hot coffee and buckwheat cakes with fried sausage, and Roger knew his aunt was up.