irst day is always the hardest," he said encouragingly. "You
will live through to-morrow, if that's any comfort, Jack."

"Well, of course, I'm not complaining," Jack declared. "I don't expect
to pick roses--ouch!--and I won't grunt. But that tomato field must be
twenty miles long!"

Rosemary played for him presently and Mrs. Willis brought out the drop
cakes she had "saved" for him, and before it was nine o'clock--his
self-imposed bed-time--Jack felt more cheerful in spirit if not in
muscle.

But the days that followed tested his spirit severely. It was, as
Doctor Hugh had said, an entirely new experience for him to work for
anyone else and to work straight through a hot summer day with a brief
noon hour and no free time planned. There were even a number of chores
to be done after supper. "Vacation" to Jack had hitherto meant long,
cloudless days with leisure to read lazily in the hammock, or go
swimming when he pleased and license to grumble when his father
suggested that a little weeding would do the garden no harm.

It had not occurred to Jack, when he so blithely decided to hire out to
Mr. Hildreth, that he was contracting to give six days of labor--and
part of the seventh--as a week's work; he had not thought much about
it, but somewhere in the back of his mind there had been a hazy scheme
of affairs that included a day or two off, when it should be convenient
for him--free days which he would spend fishing with Doctor Hugh and
"playing around" with Rosemary and Sarah and Shirley. He was surprised
to find that fishing and kindred sports had no place on Warren and
Richard's schedule; work was a serious thing to them and in their
experience money was not to be easily earned.

Jack said little, but an undercurrent of friction began to develop
between him and Warren though to do him justice Warren was more than
ordinarily thoughtful and ready to make every allowance for Jack's
inexperience. But naturally the issuing of orders fell to him and he
was made responsible for the volume of work accomplished each day. Mr.
Hildreth permitted no excuses for failure in tasks set and though
extremely just he had a shrewd and accurate knowledge of the time
required for each chore and the amount of finished work to be turned
out each hour.

Jack and Richard "hit it off together" very well, too well, in fact;
they began to "fool," to skylark and, insensibly, waste time. When
Warren interfered it was in the role of ki