The Douglas Farm
The next morning, Oliver walked out the back door to begin the day's work. But first he had to find Eb.
"Eb!" he called. "Yeah, dad?" Eb asked from behind him, startling him. Oliver turned around.
"Eb, where have you been? We were supposed to start working over an hour ago!" he told him in an agitated tone.
"I was busy rebuilding the barn." Eb explained. Oliver's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Rebuilding the barn? That's not your job! Why in the world were you doing that?" he demanded to know.
"But Mr. Douglas, by the time Alf and Ralph finish rebuilding it, my furniture will have arrived!" he exclaimed.
"But I thought your furniture wasn't coming for another six weeks." Oliver said in a puzzled tone.
"Exactly!" Eb said in a sarcastic tone.
"Well, if that's the case, I better have a talk with those Monroe brothers! Alf! Ralph!" he called.
"Yes, sir?" Alf asked from behind him. Oliver jumped at the sound of their voice and turned around to face them.
"Would everybody stop popping up behind…" Oliver began, but was interrupted by Ralph.
"Is there something you wanted?" she said impatiently. "We still have a lot of work to do in the barn."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Eb tells me that progress is going slow on the barn. Why is that?" Oliver asked with his hands on his hips.
"Well, Mr. Douglas, look how badly your barn is burnt! If we go to fast with our repairing, it's likely that the whole thing will collapse!" Alf exclaimed.
"And after all, we are only two people! Now, if some generous man around here would spring for more workers, we would be able to get the job done faster!" Ralph hinted.
Oliver narrowed his eyes, knowing perfectly well what she was hinting at. "I am not going to hire more people! You two get the job done in the allotted time or you two are fired!" he said stubbornly.
"But Mr. Douglas, we can't finish this job alone! It's too big of a job! All we need is at one more person! Then the job will get done at lot faster!" Alf argued.
As Oliver and the Monroe Brothers continued to argue, Eb was struck with an idea. "Hey, Mr. Douglas! I have an idea!" he said proudly. Oliver stopped in mid-argument and looked at him. "Well, what is it?" he asked impatiently.
"What if I help them?" Eb asked.
"You!" Oliver exclaimed. "But you can't work with the Monroe Brothers! I need you to help me around the barn!"
"But Mr. Douglas, I need my room back! I'm getting tired of sleeping on your sofa! Besides you can just hire someone temporarily to take my place! You can pay them my salary until the barn is finished! Please, dad, please!" Eb pleaded.
Oliver crossed his arms while he thought. It seemed like an all right idea to him. After all, he would still have a farm hand and the barn would get done faster. Oliver uncrossed his arms and sighed. "Oh, all right! But as long as you work hard and get the job done fast!" he said in a warning tone.
Eb smiled. "Don't worry, dad! I'll make you proud!" With that, he ran off toward the barn to begin his work, with Alf and Ralph close behind him. Oliver looked at Eb with bewilderment. He never saw Eb so anxious to do any kind of labor before. But then again, Eb never had anything to gain out of the labor he was asked to do.
Oliver shook his head in exasperation and headed back into the house to tell Lisa the news.
Hello again! Sorry about this chapter! I know it's a little slow! But don't worry! It gets better, I promise! So please stay tuned and don't forget to review!