Where people labour with a will, under good management, work proceeds rapidly. Before the evening the timber for the first two cottages was shaped, and trees for several others were cut down; while grass enough had been stacked for thatching them. The ladies were not idle. Fanny and Emma Morley insisted on carrying the bundles of grass, and even poor Mrs Twopenny tried to exert herself, but certainly did very little real work. When Mrs Morley was seen accompanying her daughters, Mrs Rumbelow came up to her. "Please, marm, I beg your pardon, but that must not be. What is play to us is killing work for you. Let an old woman advise you, and don't go and knock yourself up. Mr Shafto commands here, and I am sure he will say I am right." It was not, however, without difficulty that the poor lady could be induced to return to the tent. The first two cottages were completed. They had fire-places composed of stone and clay at the further ends, the wall being of sufficient thickness to prevent the woodwork outside from burning; while the chimneys were formed of wood coated inside with clay. The roofs were made double; the lowest set of rafters were first covered with grass, and a layer of clay placed over them: above this was a thickly-thatched pointed roof, so that the snow and wet could not rest on it. Harry and Willy, with the assistance of the doctor, put up a porch in the front of Mrs Morley's house, which gave it a picturesque look. As there was no planking to spare, the doors and window-shutters were formed of rough frames and bars across, with grass thickly interwoven between them. These served to keep out the wind and cold, and, as Willy said, looked excessively rural. The bedplaces, fixed against the walls, were raised some feet from the floor, and formed much after the fashion of the doors. In the centre was a table constructed out of the planking of the launch, with seats on either side. Bound the beds, with a sailor's forethought, Harry had stretched some broad pieces of canvas, assisting to keep off any draughts which might make their way in blowing weather into the cottage. Captain Twopenny's abode, though smaller than Mrs Morley's, was constructed in the same manner. He and Harry, with all the men of the party, had been up by daybreak to complete them. As soon as breakfast was over, they invited the ladies to take possession of their new cottages. Mrs Morley and her daughters expressed themselves delighted with theirs. "You have indeed, Mr Shafto, laboured hard to secure our comfort," she said, "and we feel most grateful. I little expected so soon to have such excellent shelter." "What a fearful place to have to live in during the winter," said Mrs Twopenny, as she surveyed the abode to which her husband introduced her. "Why didn't you build it of brick."