By the end of the forenoon he had discovered just what cleaning out an elderberry pasture meant , but he set his teeth and resolutely persevered . During the afternoon Timothy Robinson , whose farm adjoined the Fillmore place , wandered by and halted with a look of astonishment at the sight of Ellis , busily engaged in digging and tearing out huge , tough , stubborn elder roots . The boy did not see his uncle , but worked away with a vim and vigour that were not lost on the latter . `` He never got that muscle from Sam , '' reflected Timothy . `` Sam would have fainted at the mere thought of stumping elders . Perhaps I 've been mistaken in the boy . Well , well , we 'll see if he holds out . '' Ellis did hold out . The elderberries tried to hold out too , but they were no match for the lad 's perseverance . It was a hard piece of work , however , and Ellis never forgot it . Week after week he toiled in the hot summer sun , digging , cutting , and dragging out roots . The job seemed endless , and his progress each day was discouragingly slow . He had expected to get through in a month , but he soon found it would take two . Frequently Timothy Robinson wandered by and looked at the increasing pile of roots and the slowly extending stretch of cleared land . But he never spoke to Ellis and made no comment on the matter to anybody . One evening , when the field was about half done , Ellis went home more than usually tired . It had been a very hot day . Every bone and muscle in him ached . He wondered dismally if he would ever get to the end of that wretched elderberry field . When he reached home Jacob Green from Westdale was there .
Jacob XXXXX no time in announcing his errand .
ached cleaning discovered engaged lost seemed spoke stumping toiled went