“MR. ROD ROYAL,” so the letter began,

“Dear Sir:  Your favor of the 12th received, and its contents noted.  I shall be pleased to receive as many berries as you can send, and will give you market prices for the same.

“Yours respectfully,

“PETER McDUFF.”

This was the first business letter Rod had ever received and he was delighted.  After showing it to Mr. and Mrs. Royal, he rushed over to tell the good news to Captain Josh and Whyn.  The latter was much pleased, and she gave him some sound advice.

“You must keep that letter,” she told him, “for you cannot always trust people.  I have heard some queer stories of mean tricks which have been done.  Then, you had better read the market prices every day in the paper, and cut the piece out, so you will know just exactly how much your berries are bringing.  How I wish I could help you pick them.”

Monday morning Rod began to pick his first berries.  The patch was not a large one, but it seemed big to him.  Hour after hour he worked, and at times his back ached.  The day was hot, and the perspiration poured down his face.  But he kept faithfully at his task, stopping only long enough to eat his dinner.  When supper time came he had twenty boxes of nice ripe berries lying side by side upon the kitchen table.  He could not eat a bite until all had been placed safely in the crate, and then he stood back and gazed upon them with admiration.  In fact, he had to come out several times before he went to bed to view his treasures.  But at last the cover was placed on, nailed down, and the ticket tacked upon the top.

Early the next morning Parson Dan and Rod took the berries to the wharf in the carriage, in time to catch the first steamer of the day.  Thus at last his precious berries were off on their way to the city, and as Rod watched the Heather Bell as she glided away from the wharf he tried to catch a glimpse of his box where it was lying among the rest of the freight.  He pictured Mr. McDuff’s delight when he saw what fine berries he had received.

That day Rod picked twenty more boxes, fifteen in the morning, and five during the afternoon.  They were becoming scarcer now, and it would be necessary for him to let them ripen for a day before he could expect to fill a third crate.  The rest of the afternoon he spent with the scouts.  It was their regular meeting, at which they were to tell how they were getting along with the raising of money for their suits.  The reports were by no means encouraging from most of the boys, as they had accomplished nothing.  Rod alone told what he had done, and how much he hoped to make out of his berries.

“I am going to earn every cent myself,” he said in conclusion, “and I am not going to get my suit until I can pay for it.”