But Don couldn't stop to explain this just now. He told his brother
and David to make haste and put the quails into the cabin; and when
that was done and they came into the shop, he set them at work on the
coops. There was much yet to be done, but they had ample time to do
it in, with more than a day to spare. When the next Wednesday night
arrived fifty-five dozen quails, boxed and marked ready for shipment,
were at the landing, waiting to begin the journey to their new home
in the North, and Don carried in his pocket a letter addressed to the
advertiser, which Captain Morgan was to mail at Cairo.
The boys camped at the landing that night to keep guard over their
property. They pitched a little tent on the bank, built a roaring
fire in front of it, and in company with Fred and Joe Packard, who
came down to stay with them, passed the hours very pleasantly. The
Emma Deane came up the next afternoon, and when the freight had been
carried aboard and she backed out into the stream again, David drew
a long breath, expressive of the deepest satisfaction. His task was
done, and he hoped in a few days more to reap the reward of his
labor.
The boys felt like resting now. They had worked long and faithfully,
and they were all relieved to know that their time was their own.
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