It was unfortunate for Benjamin that he
did not hate such an enterprise as much as he did candle-making. If he
had, he would have given a wide berth to the salt marsh and the wharf
project. But neither he nor his companions disliked the evil work in
which there was sport. We say that they worked with a will; and their
perseverance was the only commendable thing about the affair.
Sometimes three or four of them worked away at a stone, rolling it
along or lifting, as necessity required. Then one alone would catch up
a smaller one, and convey it to the wharf at double-quick. Half their
zeal, tact, and industry, in doing this wrong, would have made the
candle-trade, or any other business, a success.
The evening was not quite spent when the last stone was carried away,
and the wharf finished,--a work of art that answered their purpose
very well, though it was not quite as imposing as Commercial Wharf is
now, and was not calculated to receive the cargo of a very large
Liverpool packet.
"A capital place now for fishing!" exclaimed Fred. "It is worth all it
cost for that."
"It may cost more than you think for before we get through with it,"
suggested John. "We sha'n't know the real cost of it until the owner
finds his stones among the missing."
"I should like to hear his remarks to-morrow morning, when he
discovers his loss," remarked Benjamin; "they will not be very
complimentary, I think.
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