“Little Citizens’ pigs! We are raisin’ a hull litter of ’em on de leavin’s of de table. I’ll show you.”
The Bobolinks were soon watching the fat little porkers who had so much clean food to eat. All the garbage from the kitchens was carefully sorted by a few of the Squad each day, and the peelings or bits of raw fruit and vegetables were thrown into a great kettle near the sty. This was boiled into mush and fed to the pigs. All bread, meat and other refuse from table or kitchen, was mixed well and given to the pigs at noon. The mushy food was fed in the morning and at night. The sty was kept as clean as possible, and the pigs were scrubbed every day to keep them clean and healthy.
“Goodness me! Who scrubs them?” laughed Ned.
“Oh, we draw lots for that work. Every feller in the Squad wants to do it, but we take turns,” replied the Captain.
Then he showed the Bobolinks the other refuse heap. The papers were all picked out and kept in bags to sell. All rags were also collected for sale. Tin cans and other metals were picked out and thrown in a bin for sale also. The money thus earned was to be used for an outing or for some form of general good for the Little Citizens—such as a victrola, or game, or other pleasure.
The Bobolinks followed their host back to the camp and found the Squad had completed their rounds and were rolling the little basket-wagons to the dump. So they said good-by to the captain and ran away to join the Blue Birds who were coming from the Infirmary.
“Say, Uncle Ben has this plan worked down to a fine system, hasn’t he?” said Ned, approvingly.
“Of course he has. I’d like to own one of those pigs myself, and try for a county-fair prize,” said Jinks.
“It’s a wonder he hasn’t thought of keeping bee-hives for Little Citizens, or mushroom cellars, and a lot of other things,” laughed Meredith.
“Now say, Mete, that bee idea isn’t so bad. Let’s suggest it. Lots of these boys would be glad to try it out, I should think.”