Hidden Treasure Part 37

"Yes, but n.o.body charges for ice," said Alex.

"Well, of course, if you know of any one who has nice ice to give away, that's the place to get it," said Bob, "but if you want ice from Brookside, you better let us know soon, because three or four people are asking for the full cutting of the pond, and, of course, we want to fill our own icehouse first, and after that--first come, first served."

"You had better hold it for us, Bob, until I find out."

"You'll have to make up your mind whether you want it or not; there's the telephone--call up your father and see what he says."

After a few minutes talk with his father, Alex came out of the office and said:

"We'll take it, Bob. Put us down for the first cutting after you get your own off. I think it will take a full cutting of the entire pond to fill our icehouse. There's another thing I was going to ask you about, too. Could we have Tony a while to help us with some concrete work?"

"What are you going to build, Alex?" asked Bob.

"Oh, we want to make some concrete fence posts, and fence in our property. Since father sold the sixty-acre farm to the First National Bank we thought we'd improve the remaining hundred and forty by putting up a wire fence on concrete posts."

"You'd have to put up a shed and get some moulds and all that sort of thing," said Bob. "Why not let us sell you posts?"

"Will you sell us some?" asked Alex.

"Surely," said Bob. "Tony has been making a lot of fence posts this winter. We're going to make a regular business."

"How much will they cost us?" asked Alex.

"Seventy-five cents at the pit and you can haul them yourselves."

"I'll speak to father about it and see what he says. He rather thought, though, we'd make them ourselves."

"Just as you like," said Bob. "The posts will cost you less if you make them yourselves and you'll have the advantage, when the shed is once up, you can make all kinds of things."

"I think that's what we'd rather do. I'd like to work in cement myself. I think it must be very interesting, and I'd like to get father started so we can get some concrete buildings like Brookside Farm. You haven't any idea, Bob, how nice your buildings look from over at the turn of the road."

"Oh, yes, I do. I often stop when I'm coming out from town to take a look from that point."

"How long do you want Tony?" asked Bob.

"We'd like to have him two or three weeks," said Alex.

"That will be all right--we can let him go."

The next few weeks Bob spent sharpening up their tools, oiling the machines and touching up the paint on those that showed wear. As soon as this was completed, he began making fifty additional concrete apiaries. The bees had paid so well the previous year that he decided to increase their number to one hundred colonies. Another thing that caused him to arrive at this decision was a letter from Edith, a few days before, saying she had her mother's permission to return to Brookside in the early spring and that she would again spend the summer with them.

"Do you know what day this is, Bob?" asked his uncle a few weeks later, as they sat down to breakfast.

"It's Thursday, Uncle Joe," said Bob.

"Yes, Thursday, March first, and it will be just one year to-morrow since you came to Brookside Farm. Your Aunt Bettie and I've been talking it over and we've decided we should take our inventory to-day and balance our books to-night, and see how much we've made or lost during the year," he added smiling. "Bettie thinks it's better to take inventory on March first instead of April first, so that all the labor that goes on the spring plowing may be charged in the new year. As soon as we have our breakfast, Bob, we'll go to the barn and take a careful inventory of all the grain, live stock, poultry and other products."

It took them until four o'clock in the afternoon to make the inventory, which was then laid aside until after supper, when they would figure out the amount and compare the results with the previous year.

They had just sat down to supper when the door of the dining room was suddenly opened and there stood Ruth and Edith, cheeks aglow and eyes sparkling.

"Where in the world did you girls come from?" asked their aunt, who was the first to see them.

"Oh, we came in on the afternoon train," laughed Ruth, "and we got Henry Smith to drive us out. We wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you certainly have," said their uncle, as they all crowded around to welcome them back to Brookside Farm.

"Where's your new farmhand, Aunt Bettie?" asked Ruth. "I want to see him."

Her aunt looked puzzled for a moment and then said:

"He's around somewhere if you'd like to see him, but why are you so anxious to see him, Ruth? He's Tony's brother, you know."

"Oh, I mean Joseph Williams, Jr.," exclaimed Ruth excitedly.

"Oh, he's asleep upstairs," said her aunt; "you may see him directly, but you must have something to eat first."

Their wraps were soon removed. A few minutes later happenings on Brookside Farm were intermingled with happenings in New England, as they asked and answered each others' questions.

After supper was over and while the girls were inspecting the new baby, Bob and his uncle sat in the office and figured out the inventory. Bob was just completing the written statement of the account, when his aunt and the two girls came into the office.

"Have you the inventory finished yet?" asked his aunt.

"Just finished," he said, laying down the sheet.

"Then we're just in time," said Edith, "for that's why we planned to reach here to-day; we wanted to know the result of the year's work, and I'm sure it must be a good report."

INVENTORY

APRIL 15, MARCH 1, ITEM 1916 1917

Farm, 125 acres............................$6,000.00 $6,000.00 New Buildings.........................................20,000.00 Cows: 10 head @ $175 .............................1,750.00 1,500.00 8 head @ $60 .................................480.00 Heifers, 5 head @ $50....................................250.00 Bulls: 1 head @ $350 ................................350.00 350.00 1 head @ $75 ..................................75.00 Calves, 4 head @ $10...........................40.00 Horses: 2 head @ $350 ................................700.00 600.00 2 head @ $200 ................................400.00 Colts, 2 head @ $200..........................400.00 Hogs: 5 head @ $40 .................................200.00 150.00 6 head @ $30 .................................180.00 8 head @ $25 .................................200.00 1 head @ $75 ..................................75.00 Sheep, 12 head @ $20..........................240.00 240.00 Chickens ......................................50.00 550.00 Machinery and Tools...........................125.00 5,000.00 Automobile....................................440.00 1,400.00 Feed and Supplies.............................300.00 566.00 Growing Crops (Labor and Seed).................80.00 150.00 Cash..........................................110.00 3,725.00 Bills Receivable...............................75.00 1,275.00 Seed on Hand..................................600.00 Ice ...........................................60.00 Wood .........................................200.00 Total Resources...........................$11,520.00 $43,366.00 Mortgage and Bills Payable..................6,000.00 31,500.00 Net Worth..................................$5,620.00 $11,866.00 Gain for the Year...........................6,246.00 _____ $11,866.00 $11,866.00

Her aunt picked up the sheet and read it over carefully and said:

"The farm shows a gross earning of $12,420 for the new year, and after paying the interest on the mortgage and loans of $1860; $2000 for wages and $2214 for new furniture, piano, victrola and new automobile, a total of $6074, it still leaves a balance $6346, as a net gain, and that without counting the earnings from the sand pit. Our new buildings and fencing cost us $20,000, and our new machinery and tools $5000. The farm shows a profit of $124 per acre for the ground under cultivation.

If we do as well this coming year as we did last year, we ought to have the farm free and clear, but, of course, we won't have to depend on that as we have the earnings from the sand pit to help out, if we want to use it for that purpose, but instead of paying off the mortgage in full, I think we will irrigate the seven acres along the main road and put that field under intensive cultivation."

"We ought to do a great deal better next year, Uncle Joe," said Bob, "as we won't have the buildings to bother with and I can devote all my time to the work; then we ought to be able to do a great deal more work, too, on account of the saving of time, due to having modern buildings and all our power installed, which we didn't have for the full season last year."

They studied the inventory for some minutes, comparing the gross earnings per acre of one crop with another, and were very much surprised to find that in many cases crops they had previously thought to be quite profitable showed up in the schedule rather poorly by comparison with others.

"Why, the oats seem to have earned only $21 per acre, while the corn shows an earning of $44 per acre--more than twice as much as the oats," said Edith.

"You know, Edith," said her uncle, "that after the oats were taken off we pastured sixty pigs in the oat stubble for the balance of the summer. Of course, that must be credited up to the oat field, because the crop made it possible to raise the rape and afford a good pasture for them."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," said Edith.