"I will do my part to put it through."
"And I will do mine."
"And so will I."
"And I, too."
By this time all were willing to follow Benjamin, their leader.
Perhaps some of them were afraid to say "No," as their consciences
suggested, now that the enterprise was endorsed by one or two of their
number. Both boys and men are quite disposed to "go with the multitude
to do evil." They are too cowardly to do what they know is right.
The salt marsh bounding a part of the mill-pond where their boat lay
was tramped into a quagmire. The boys were wont to fish there at high
water, and so many feet treading on the spot reduced it to a very soft
condition. It was over this miry marsh that they proposed to build a
wharf. The evening was soon there, and the boys, too, upon their
rogues' errand. They surveyed the pile of stones, and found it ample
for their purpose, though it appeared to be a formidable piece of work
to remove them.
"Two of us can't lift and carry some of them," said Fred.
"Then three of us will hitch on and carry them," replied Benjamin.
"They must all be worked into a wharf this evening. Let us
begin--there is no time to lose."
"The largest must go first," suggested John. "They are capital stones
for the foundation. Come, boys, let us make quick work of it."
So they went to work with a will and "where there's a will there's a
way," in evil as well as good.
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