156 "Dead Trees Love the Fire" 



posts. These firewood expeditions are hailed 

 with delight by the children, because each one 

 constitutes a sort of picnic for them. Yester- 

 day was one of our firewood days, and we got 

 off by a glorious morning soon after seven 

 o'clock, taking, of course, all the children and 

 a friend with us. As we marched down to the 

 boat, our axes, fishing-poles, and oars over our 

 shoulders, we met the first stage starting from 

 our little hotel for the railroad station, full of 

 unfortunate business men bound to New York 

 for another week's heat, worry, fatigue, and 

 money. I suppose that every one of them 

 hoped to make at least one hundred dollars 

 by the week's work, for life is expensive when 

 one has a large family and boards at the coun- 

 try inn. That would be about fifteen dollars a 

 day. I was going to earn enough firewood, or 

 rather enough pine knots, to give a balsamic 

 scent to our fires for half the winter. Probably 

 I could have hired a man to go and do the 

 work for me and bring back more wood than I 

 should require, all for three or four dollars. If 

 money is the object of life, then my conscience 

 ought to prick me to the quick as we nod good- 



