way or another all summer. There'll always be work for a
boy who knows how to do a job well."

CHAPTER III

GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING

Thus it came about that Ted Turner began the long, golden days of his
summer vacation at the great estates of the Fernalds, and soon he had
made himself such an indispensable part of the farming staff that both
Mr. Wharton and Mr. Stevens came to rely on him for many services
outside of those usually turned over to the men.

"Just step over to the south lot at Pine Lea, Ted, and see if those
fellows are thinning the beets properly," Mr. Wharton would say. "I
gave them their orders but they may not have taken them in. You know
how the thing should be done. Sing out to them if they are not doing
the job right."

Or:

"Mr. Stevens and I shall be busy this morning checking up the pay roll.
Suppose you have an eye on the hilling up of the potatoes, Ted. Show
the men how you want it done and start them at it. I'll be over later
to see how it's going."

Frequently, instead of working, the boy was called in to give an
opinion on some agricultural matter with which he had had experience.

"We are finding white grubs in the corner of the Pine Lea garden. They
are gnawing off the roots of the plants and making no end of trouble.
What did you do to get rid of them when you were up in Vermont?"

"Salt and wood ashes worked better than anything else," Ted would reply
modestly. "It might not be any good here but we had luck with it at
home."

"We can try it, at least. You tell Mr. Stevens what the proportions are
and how you applied it."

And because the advice was followed by a successful extermination of
the plague, the lad's prestige increased and he was summoned to future
conclaves when troublesome conditions arose.

Now and then there was a morning when Mr. Stevens would remark to Mr.
Wharton:

"I've got to go to the Falls to-day to see about some freight. Ted
Turner will be round here, though, and I guess things will be all
right. The men can ask him if they want anything."

And so it went.

First Ted filled one corner, then another. He did errands for Mr.
Wharton, very special errands, that required thought and care, and
which the manager would not have entrusted to every one. Sometimes he
ventured valuable suggestions which Mr. Stevens, who really had had far
less farming experience than he, was only too grateful to follow.

If the boy felt at all puffed up by the depe