Answer:
D
Explanation:
you could try to replace Sporadically with one of the answer choices and see which word fits best.
I think this will work:
There was only the churned water, filled with scantlings and torn branches of trees. ... It will send up the price of scantlings, and we was getting on too fast with them. About all the timber required to erect one of these houses is for joists, scantlings, and doors.