morning, noon
Eli seemed deeply interested in some specimens he had picked up close to their noon camp , and which held forth alluring promises of copper -- it was the chief fad of his life to run across a lode of the valuable metal in this far-North country ; and make his everlasting fortune that way ; for in secret the Michigan lad hugged certain plans for future worldwide travel to his heart , all of which , while extremely visionary at present , would be easily possible when his `` ship came home , '' and that rich copper deposit cropped up before his eager eyes . Few boys there be who fail to have a hobby of some sort -- with some it is the pretty general craze for stamp collecting , others go in for coins , autographs , birds ' eggs , specimens of birds , weapons of worldwide people , rabbits , pigeons -- well , the list is almost inexhaustible , when you come to think of it . Cuthbert 's weakness , as has already been seen , lay in the line of travel and exploration , and the chances were that as he grew older he would develop into a bona fide Livingstone or a Stanley , eager to see faraway lands where the feet of a white man had probably never before wandered , and the mystery of which he might be the very first to unearth . With Eli it was copper , morning , noon and night ; he asked a thousand questions about the ore , where it had been found , what the character of the rocks peculiar to the region , and all such things , making copious notes the while , until as his comrade Cuthbert said , he should be about one of the best posted fellows in that line in the country -- still , up to this day he had not met with such a measure of success as to turn his head ; though Eli was a most determined chap , and bound to hold on after the manner of a bulldog , once he had taken a grip . Perhaps Owen also had his particular hobby ; but if so the others had as yet been granted little opportunity of realizing what it was . Given time and it would no doubt develop itself . Cuthbert had a good deal of patience , and prided himself on his waiting qualities , so that he made little effort to hasten matters .