“Chores,” answered the man. “Cows must be fed before they are milked and the other stock must be attended to. The earlier a man gets his chores done, the more time he can give to his farm. I’ve no patience with these fellows who don’t get through with their chores till the middle of the forenoon.”
“But you didn’t have any cows to milk this morning. I should think you would have indulged in the luxury of a late sleep,” laughed Phil.
“I just couldn’t. It was four-fifteen when I looked at my watch and I grew so fidgety I had to get up. Marthy, can’t you give these young gentlemen some of your good coffee?” Turning, the boys beheld a plump little woman, from whose face and eyes kindness and good nature radiated, hurrying down the aisle with a steaming coffee-pot in her hand.
“To be sure, I can, Silas.” Then, beaming on the young homesteaders, she said:
“Just bring your cups. After I’d made it. I knew there was more’n twice as much as Silas and I could drink.”
“We haven’t any cups, though we thank you just the same,” returned Phil.
“No cups? Land sakes, what did you expect to drink out of?” cried the woman in dismay, subjecting the boys to a penetrating scrutiny.
“Guess they haven’t made the trip across the plains as many times as we have, Marthy,” interposed her husband.
“This is our first time,” explained Ted.
“Land sakes, I thought because you knew enough to travel in a ‘tourist’ you’d been out before. If you haven’t cups, then I don’t suppose you have anything but boughten pies, cake and such like,” sighed the woman.