But she may be right, and it's too late to take chances.

The only thing to do is to get that lumber off right away." Addison and I went out to the stable to talk the matter over; we did not want to excite grandmother any further.

At best, she had a good deal to worry her that winter.
"Now what can we do ?" Addison exclaimed.

Five or six days would be required to get the old Squire home from Canada.
"And what could he do after he got here ?" Addison asked.

"The teams and the choppers are all off at the lumber-camps." "Let's take our axes and go up there and cut what birch we can next week," said I, in desperation.
"Oh, we boys couldn't do much alone in so short a time," replied Addison.
Still, we could think of nothing else; and with the loss of two thousand dollars staring us in the face, we began planning desperately how much of that birch we could save in a week's time.