i The School, Well-digging, and a Picnic 



tance apart, and then, notching the ends and 

 those of another pair to fit, we began to build, 

 and soon had the walls about seven feet high. 



This done, we proceeded to make door-frames 

 from lumber we had reserved for the purpose, 

 and from the pieces of timber cut out from the 

 apertures, Tom commenced chinking the spaces 

 between the logs of the walls. For this pur- 

 pose he had, of course, to split the pieces. 

 [ This done, we began on the roof, and supporting 

 I the centre with a stout post, laid the rafters, 

 of poles about the same size as the before- 

 jnentioned fence-posts. 



We next mixed a quantity of clay, which had 

 come from our shallow dip-well, to the consist- 

 ency of mortar, and carefully filled up and daubed 

 every chink and cranny left between the logs. 

 This is important in order to keep out the icy 

 blasts of winter. 



Having finished, we undertook the work of 

 sodding up. Going to the breaking done in the 

 spring, I cut the twelve-inch sods into three-feet 

 lengths with an axe, while Tom loaded them on 

 the wagon. With these we built a wall against 

 the logs all round the shack, sloping the outside 

 gradually inwards ; and when we reached the 

 roof we spread a good layer of hay on the rafters, 

 and on this one thickness of sod and loose clay 



113 H 



