It was no easy task, for there were two feet or more of soft snow on the ground, and there were as many as three hundred brimming bucketfuls that had to be carried to the sap holders at the shed.
Several times I thought that Addison was shirking.

I noticed that at nearly every tree he stopped, put down his sap pails, picked up a handful of the auger chips that lay in the snow at the foot of the tree, and stood there turning them over with his fingers.

The boys had used an inch and a half auger, for in those days people thought that the bigger the auger hole and the deeper they bored, the more sap would flow.
"Don't hurry, Ad," I said, smiling, as we passed each other.

"The snow's soft! Pails of sap are heavy!" He grinned, but said nothing.

Afterward I saw him slyly slipping handfuls of those chips into his pocket.