s your lot, so that you may get your freight in.' To help he was to
hire a man, and it was arranged to start at daylight.

Next morning Jabez appeared at the door of the tavern with an ox-team,
and seated beside him in the wagon was a youth. 'This is Jim Sloot, who
can handle an axe with any man. You have that to learn. It is the axe
that has made Canada.' Arrived at the bridle-path that led to their lot,
they had a day's work on it brushing and prying off fallen trees. On
reaching the lot master had bought, trees had to be felled to continue
the path. These Jabez and Jim assailed, while master trimmed their
branches off with a hatchet. On the evening of the third day they were
in sight of the pond, when the master left, for the Kingston boat might
arrive next morning, and he must be on hand to meet his family. How he
met us I have already told.

CHAPTER VI.

FIRST DAYS IN THE BACKWOODS

Our freight, as Jabez termed it, filled three wagons and started up
Yonge-street. A fourth wagon came to the door of the tavern for the
women and children, I being left to help them. We were told to stop at
Mr Dunlop's store for supplies that had been bought. He came out to see
us and in a minute was thick in talk with the women about Ayrshire. On
the team starting he declared meeting them was like a visit to Scotland.
The driver pointed out to us how straight Yonge-street was; runs forty
miles to Lake Simcoe straight as the handle of my whip. It was a jolty,
hot drive but we enjoyed it hugely; everything was new to us and we were
all in high spirits at the prospect of our long journey being about to
end and in coming into possession of our estates, about which there was
no end of jokes. Mrs Auld was in doubts as to what name they would give
their hundred acres, while Mrs Brodie settled on Bonnybraes for hers.
'But we have not seen a hill since we left Montreal,' remarked the
mistress. 'I dinna care,' rejoined Mrs Brodie, Bonnybraes was the name
of the farm we left and it will make the woods hamelike.' When we spied
at a distance several men standing by the roadside we gave a shout of
joy and were soon reunited. The laughing and talking might have been
heard half a mile away. Jabez now took the lead. As the wagons arrived
he had caused them to be unloaded under a clump of hemlocks, the chests
and packages being arranged to make a three-sided enclosure. In front he
had started a fire, over which, slung from a pole resting on c