The Hourglass (Wild Children Series Book 2) by Hannah Ross

Author:Hannah Ross [Ross, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mason Marshall Press
Published: 2018-09-15T07:00:00+00:00

21

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Sunday, April 13

"Wow!" Priscilla shaded her eyes with her hand as she peered ahead. "That looks just like a Viking longhouse." Her head tilted sideways. "Well… minus the turf-roof, I guess."

Ben looked gratified. "That's the extension we built. The old part is on the other side."

"Well, you two can keep admiring the view for all I care," Tony grumbled, "but I'd really rather go on. Don't know about you, but I'm starving. I hope there's a good lunch."

"There usually is," Ben assured him. "'Course, nobody's expecting company."

As they approached the cabin, his companions saw two young men outside. One, thin and wiry, looked Ben's age, the other slightly older. At the sight of the arrivals, they dropped what they were doing and rushed forward to greet them.

"There he is, now!" yelled the younger one, clapping Ben genially on the back. "Told you he ain't dead, Enzo!"

"Been making bets on me, Tom?" Ben grinned, shaking hands. "Here, meet Tony. He's my sister's boyfriend. And this is Nell."

"Nice to meet you, Nell." Tom looked at her with undisguised curiosity.

"What camp are you from?" Enzo asked.

"Nell's from the Boundary. She's been staying at my parents' farm for a bit."

"A Boundary girl, eh? There's a lot more people from the Boundary passing through these parts lately. Not that it's a bad thing. Come on in. Gabby and Lauren have cooked to feed an army as usual."

"You won't have to ask me twice," Tony said, stepping onto the neat gravel path.

Ben and his camp-mates led the visitors to the new main entrance in the log extension. As they followed the crunchy gravel path, Priscilla's curious eye noted the neat outbuildings – the barn, poultry-house, and the animal pens for cows, horses, and goats. The many rows of vegetables looked straight and well-tended. Even after the short time she spent with the Hursts, she could appreciate how much work it would take to keep such a large garden in good shape. On the other side of the household, there was an orchard with carefully pruned trees, and beyond the fence she saw fields of crops. She didn't know what they were, but they looked green and vibrant and promising of a fair harvest. The whole exterior of the little farm spoke of diligence, perseverance, and hard work.

When they entered the wide, spacious, solidly built log hall, Tony whistled.

"You guys really did this?"

"Was a helluva lot of work," Tom said, "and some of us got injured. Enzo could tell you a thing or two about it. But we're sure glad we did it. We'd have been much too cramped in just the old house. You'll see how small it is. It's just the kitchen and some bedrooms there now." At this point his recital was interrupted by a crowd of people who all came forward to meet Ben and the visitors.

Attracted by the commotion, a slightly plump, motherly young woman accompanied by a brood of children walked in from the kitchen and smiled. "Ben! It's about time! I was starting to get anxious.

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