Long before Thanksgiving the farm work was pretty well cleared up. Hiram kept only Orrin and the boy, Jim Larry, to help him do the winter chores. The three of them could feed the cattle, draw out the stable manure and spread it on the corn land which he would first plow in the early spring, and do the other necessary winter work. The house had been long since finished, although the interior had not been decorated, as Mr. Bronson wished to wait for the house to settle. It was otherwise ready for occupancy and there was a heating plant in the cellar. Hiram and the boys moved into the house when the weather became severe and started the furnace. Mr. Bronson furnished some necessities in the way of cots and warm blankets, and the three were very comfortable. Miss Delia Pringle insisted upon coming over on frequent occasions and "ridding up" for them. "For, talk as you will, men-folks ain't fitted by nature to be good housekeepers. For the land's sake! I remember once my mother and I went away from home for a time and left father alone, and when we came back we couldn't tell for the mess there was whether it was father or the dog that had lived in the kitchen. I am sure of one thing--the dog-kennel was a long sight the cleanest!" Miss Pringle was anxious to have another dance in the new house at Sunnyside; but Hiram did not like to ask Mr. Bronson for permission. There were certain rough fellows in the neighborhood who Hiram believed had helped Adam Banks loose Turner's bull on the occasion of the former dance. Besides, Ad Banks himself was at home again for the winter. What the fellow had been doing about Sunnyside at the time of the tornado in June, Hiram had never discovered. He certainly had not remained at home for long on that occasion. Yancey Battick was not at all convinced that Banks had not come straight from Loomisville for the express purpose of burning his stack of wheat. Battick still clung to the belief that the men who had stolen his Mortgage Lifter Oats had information of the new wheat, and were determined to ruin his chances of raising a crop of it for seed if they could do so. Adam Banks would be a perfect instrument to their hands, he declared, and he felt that Banks must be watched closely. However this might be, Hiram did not wish to tempt the ne'er-do-well to try any further tricks about Sunnyside Farm. Hiram, with Orrin and Jim Larry, were always on the keen lookout for Adam Banks. Orrin, by this time, was in good health and quite able to defend himself in any case. His ability to work well and his willingness pleased Hiram immeasurably. If only the fellow was not so secretive about his past! Hiram knew little more about Orrin Post now than he had when he found him in the calf shed, eight or nine months before.