WANT TO SET THE BENCH."]

"Wall," sez I, a-pantin' hard for breath under my burden, "move round a
little, won't you, for we want to set the bench here while we scrub
under it. And," sez I, a-stoppin' a minute and rubbin' the perspiratin
and sweat offen my face, "Seein' you men are all here, can't you lay
holt and help us move out the benches, so we can clean the floor under
'em? Some of 'em are very hefty," sez I, "and all of us Sisters almost
are a-makin' soap, and we all want to get done here, so we can go home
and bile down; we would dearly love a little help," sez I.

"I would help," sez Josiah in a willin' tone, "I would help in a minute,
if I hadn't got so much work to do at home."

And all the other male bretheren said the same thing--they had got to
git to get home to get to work. (Some on 'em wanted to play checkers,
and I knew it.)

But some on 'em did have lots of work on their hands, I couldn't dispute
it.




CHAPTER XXI.


Why, Deacon Henzy, besides all his cares about the buzz saw mill, and
his farm work, had bought a steam threshin' machine that made him sights
of work. It was a good machine. But it wuz fairly skairful to see it