Tim's father has just sold a lot of cattle and hogs to Mr. Bogardus. It feels good for Tim to be free of the animals at long last. Now that the hogs and the cattle have been safely penned and sold, there's no longer anything for Tim to worry about, and that's good.

All that remains now is for Tim and his father to head back to Redding with their wagonload of provisions. But that can wait another day. For now, they spend the night in the local tavern. Tim's father knows that they could've saved money by sleeping in the wagon, but it's much too cold for that.

The following morning, Tim and his old man load their wagon with the supplies they'd bought the previous day. And what a load it is! Tim's not kidding when he says it's a good load. It consists of two hogsheads or barrels of rum—that's just over 238 liters—a half dozen large sacks of salt, a sack of coffee beans, a half dozen brass kettles and some tin pots, some breeches and brass buckles, various tools and gardening implements such as drills, files, knives, axes, and spades, and some boxes of sugar and spices.