- It's barn-raising day, y'all! Tom wakes to the sun shining.
- Birdy comes driving up, in a new shirt no less, and soon after, Mr. Hook and Mrs. Conroy arrive as well.
- Though it's Tom's barn, he actually feels pretty out-of-place in the hustle and bustle of morning prep. Mrs. Conroy directs the setup and she, Polly Ann, and the girls have command of the kitchen.
- Before long, people start to arrive: Massey and his men; Ox Hubbard: the Moucheauds and their relations; the lumberjacks; two wagons with three men, three women, and seven children from Leyden; a wagon with three single men from Potato Hill. The list goes on.
- Mr. Massey introduces Birdy to the newcomers as the man who'd helped build the barn the first time, and it's agreed that he'll be the boss of the raising.
- Under Birdy's directive calls of "Hee-yo—HEAVE!" up goes the first bent.