He made one mental condition.

If the Bird Woman was going to give up the Little Chicken series, he would yield to the second guard, solely for the sake of her work and the presence of the Angel in the Limberlost.

He did not propose to have a second man unless it were absolutely necessary, for he had been alone so long that he loved the solitude, his chickens, and flowers.

The thought of having a stranger to all his ways come and meddle with his arrangements, frighten his pets, pull his flowers, and interrupt him when he wanted to study, so annoyed him that he was blinded to his real need for help.
With McLean it was a case of letting his sober, better judgment be overridden by the boy he was growing so to love that he could not endure to oppose him, and to have Freckles keep his trust and win alone meant more than any money the Boss might lose.
The following morning McLean brought the wheel, and Freckles took it to the trail to test it.

It was new, chainless, with as little as possible to catch in hurried riding, and in every way the best of its kind.
Freckles went skimming around the trail on it on a preliminary trip before he locked it in his case and started his minute examination of his line on foot.