46 HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 



hands and face were scratched and bleeding. 

 I worried my way back to Laura's side. 



"It's going to be a fine, large house!" I said. 

 "I swear, I didn't know that seventy-two feet 

 could take you so far from anywhere." 



She laughed and began to help me pick the 

 thorns out of my hands. "And it's sixty-six 

 feet from front to back," she reminded me. 

 "Do you know what we're going to build our 

 fine, large house of?" 



"Why, yes," I said. "We've talked that all 

 over, haven't we? Heavy stone foundations 

 and stone chimneys, and heavy log walls. I 

 haven't changed my mind about that; have 

 you?" 



"Can you tell how much material it's going 

 to take?" she asked. 



"Why, no," I said. "Not exactly. Pretty 

 soon, when we have time, we'll get somebody 

 to sit down with us and sort of figure it out. 

 Anyway, there ought to be stone enough right 

 here; and there ought to be logs enough up 

 there on the woods forty.'' 



"We'll need a few boards, too, besides the 

 logs," Laura said. "And the house ought to 

 be shingled. And we'll need a barn, and some 

 chicken houses, and a well, and some fencing, 



