The other house was treated in the same
way; and it was not until the third night that both huts were
finished and ready for occupancy.
Mr. Hardy and his sons then took possession of the one near the
brow of the hill. This was to be merely a temporary abode, to be
removed when the house was built. The men had that lower down, and
rather nearer to the cattle. Beds of rushes were piled up in three
corners, and the boys thought that they had never passed such a
delicious night as their first in their new house. The next day Mr.
Hardy told his boys that they should take a holiday and ride over
the place.
The press of work was over, and things would now settle down in a
regular way. Hans and Terence had taken a contract to dig the holes
for the posts of the strong fence which was to surround the house,
including a space of a hundred yards square. This precaution was
considered to be indispensable as a defense against the Indians.
Seth, the Yankee, had similarly engaged to dig a well close to the
house. No supervision of them was therefore necessary. Lopez was to
accompany them. Each took a double-barreled gun and a revolver. The
day was very fine--about as hot as upon a warm day in June in
England. Mr. Hardy proposed that they should first ride westerly as
far as the property extended, six miles from the river; that they
should then go to the south until they reached that boundary, and
should follow that to the river, by whose banks they should return,
and bring back a bag of wild fowl for the larder.
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