all good, that He had brought him to this land of plenty, and given him
such a heritage in the wilderness.

But more than gazing and admiring had to be done that day, so after a
hasty dinner, a sheltered spot was sought for the erection of the
shanties, which were to serve them as sleeping-rooms until the house
should be built. This was soon found, and in a couple of hours two
good-sized ones were made; the walls were formed of interwoven branches,
and the roofs of bark; the fourth side of the men's was to be left open,
as a fire was kept up every night in front of it, to scare away the
wolves, and other wild beasts, should there be any in the neighborhood.

The next morning a council was held as to their future proceedings; to
prepare a house was, of course, a work to be commenced immediately, but
it required some deliberation as to how they should set about it. Mr.
Jones had taken a great liking to the family, and he now proved his
goodwill by declaring that he would "stay awhile, and help them a bit."
But first of all, the goods must be unpacked, and a shed of some kind
made to receive them. This was set about at once, and by dinner time it
was completed, the wagon and cart unloaded, and their contents arranged
as most convenient to Mrs. Lee. The rest of the day was occupied in
chopping down trees for the principal building, and very hard work it
was, especially to Tom, whose young arms and back ached sadly when he
went to bed that night. By the end of a week of this toil, a good number
of logs had been prepared, and Uncle John proposed that he and Tom
should make their way to the settler's, about ten miles distant, and see
if there were any men he could ask to help put up the house, as the
raising of the great logs would prove a slow and laborious task to so
few workmen as they now numbered. He was provided with a pocket-compass,
a rifle, and a good map of the country, and there was no real danger to