services at Morrison's house; and Dr. Blain, when not in one
of his unfortunate debauches, had his headquarters at the new town of
Plainville, which consisted of Sempter's general store and a
"stopping-place," and which had sprung up near the junction of two
streams in anticipation of the railway.

None of these pioneers was possessed of a complete farming equipment,
but each had something which his neighbour lacked, and they made
common cause together in their struggle with Nature. Thus Harris had
no mower, but when haying season came he was able to borrow
Morrison's, at the same time lending his plough to Riles, who
simultaneously accommodated Morrison with his hayrack. Among the
women exchanging became something of an exact science. Mrs. Grant was
the proud possessor of a very modern labour-saver in the shape of a
clothes-wringer, as a consequence of which wash-day was rotated
throughout the community, and it was well known that Mrs. Riles and
Mrs. Harris had to do their churning alternately. But it was Mrs.
Morrison's sewing-machine that was the great boon to the community,
and to it, perhaps, as much as the open-hearted hospitality of honest
Tom and his wife, was due the fact that their house became the social
centre of the district.

Nor was the settlement deprived of its share of sport and amusement.
On one of his periodical visits McCrae donated a baseball, and Harris
quickly shaped a bat from the trunk of a stout willow he found by the
river-bed. They had all outdoors to play in, and it was a simple
matter to mow the grass from a stretch of level prairie and turn over
the sod at points to mark the bases. Unfortunately, there were not
enough men in the community to make two baseball teams, but a species
of game was devised in which the players batted in turn, and when not
batting or base-running were always on the "out" side. Harris
developed considerable ability as a pitcher, throwing the powerful
straight ball which in those days was a greater menace to the bare
hands of the catcher than to the batter at the plate. On the occasion
of his monthly visits the missionary, who was an ardent ball-player,
generally contrived to reach Morrison's by Saturday afternoon, and so
was able to take part in the Saturday night game. And although he
never took advantage of his association with the young men to
"preach" to them, except on Sundays, a sense of comradeship sprang
up, and a standard of sport was established which