Kitabı oku: «Girl Scouts at Dandelion Camp», sayfa 6
CHAPTER NINE – THE CABINET MAKERS
When the last cloud of dust told the scout girls that their friends had disappeared down the road, they turned to the Captain. Julie evidently had an idea she wished to express.
“Now that we have time, let’s find that strawberry field and gather some for supper. It is allowable on Sunday, isn’t it?”
“If it’s for use and not for pleasure, it is right,” said the Captain.
“Well, one can’t exactly say it is for use, as one can do without berries; but they will taste mighty good with ’Liza’s cake, you know,” laughed Joan.
“And we can honestly say they are not for pleasure,” added Betty.
“They are for gustatory pleasures,” teased Mrs. Vernon.
“Girls! Seeing our Captain is so particular, suppose we exempt her from any obligation she fears we might incur by picking berries on Sunday. I say, we will gather the fruit on our own responsibility but she shall not eat of that forbidden fruit, either,” declared Julie, but at this point she was interrupted by Mrs. Vernon.
“Oh, no, indeed! As your guardian and Captain, I cannot have you eat berries on Sunday unless I, too, participate!”
With this form of banter they passed the time until the clearing in the woods was found where the berries grew in thick profusion.
“Oh, my! what a lot of them!” exclaimed the girls, as they jumped the deep ditch and fell to picking the luscious fruit.
“U-mm! Verny, you never tasted anything so delicious!” called Julie to the Captain who was seeking a safe spot to cross to the berry-patch.
After a silent time during which every one seemed hard at work, Mrs. Vernon stood up and called out: “How many quarts have you ready for supper, girls?”
Julie also stood up and laughed: “I am not sure how many quarts I can hold, but there is still room for some more.”
“We haven’t any other holder to put the fruit in – that’s why I am eating mine,” said Ruth, in self-defense.
“You’ll not be able to say that in another few minutes. Now begin to pick and save the berries until I come again,” said the Captain, going over to a clump of white birches.
“I know what: she’s going to strip some bark and make cornucopias for us to use,” explained Joan, as she saw Mrs. Vernon tear strips from the trees.
And that is just what she did. Each girl was given a deep cornucopia and soon the holders were full of berries. As each one had eaten plentifully of the fruit, as well, they were ready to start up the road again.
“Girls, we can gather berries to eat every day and still have plenty to can,” said the Captain, as they neared the camp.
“To can! how could we can any out here in the woods?”
“I’ll show you. To-morrow when the man comes from Freedom for our Tuesday order, I will tell him to bring us a box of fruit jars. Then we will experiment on the berries. Wild fruit always is much sweeter than the cultivated kind.”
“I’ve been wondering what we can give our visitors for a dinner, should we try to cook for them without asking for supplies from home?” ventured Betty, who had been rather silent during the walk to camp.
“I believe we can find enough good things right in the woods to give them, without falling back upon any store-food at all,” replied Mrs. Vernon.
The girls looked amazed, and Ruth said laughingly: “Then they’ll have to eat grass!”
“You wait and see! When I explain my menu you will be gratified, I think,” said the Captain.
It was found that Eliza had left enough soup in a pan so that, with heating, it was sufficient for supper. That, with the cake and berries, quite satisfied the girls. Then seated about the embers of the night-fire, they planned for work on the morrow.
Monday morning, as soon as the usual work was finished, the campers began to mix the clay cement for the walls. Filling up the crevices kept them busy till noon, and then they were eager to get through with the dinner and start on something new.
“Now that your new abode is finished, I wonder how you would like to fill it with furniture,” suggested Mrs. Vernon.
“Furniture! We haven’t any here, and I doubt if our folks can spare anything they might have,” Joan replied.
“I meant for you to make it,” responded the Captain.
“Make it – what of, boxes like those in the magazine?” said Julie, laughingly.
“You almost guessed my plan! If you come with me, girls, I’ll show you what I mean.”
Amazed but curious, the scouts followed Mrs. Vernon to the place where various boxes and barrels still waited to be used. These were examined and sorted by the Captain, then each girl was given one to carry up to the plateau beside the camp-ground.
“Seems to me I remember reading about that Box Furniture, once,” said Joan, dropping her burden upon the ground.
“We’ll see if we can remember well enough to apply it now,” replied the Captain. “First I’ll take this barrel. I’ll saw it halfway through the center, like this.”
Mrs. Vernon then sawed and sawed until half the staves, where she had carefully drawn a pencil-line about the center of them, fell from one side and left the other halves attached to one head end.
“See it now!” exclaimed she, standing the barrel on end. “That half where the staves are left will be the curved back of my easy-chair.”
The barrel-head which she had removed carefully from the end, that now was the top back of the chair, was secured upon the sawed staves to the center of the barrel and fastened to the back to make a seat. Then the remaining hoops were fastened securely to hold the bottom from spreading.
“Now girls, if we had material to cushion it and pad the back, don’t you think it would be comfortable?” said Mrs. Vernon.
The girls laughed appreciatively, and declared it was fine! Then Julie had an inspiration.
“Verny, I’ve got just the upholstery goods for the cushions!”
The captain smiled for she wondered if this scout had thought of the same material she had planned to use later.
“What is it?” demanded the other girls.
“We’ll take the burlap bag that came with Hepsy’s oats, die it with some vegetable or wood dye, and stuff it with excelsior that came packed about the pans.”
“Oh, Julie! How did you ever think of it?” cried Betty, admiringly.
“Just what I would have said, had you not found it out first!” declared Mrs. Vernon.
“But I don’t know where to find any dyes,” admitted the scout.
“I’ll tell you of some later. Now I wonder if you girls want to use the large barrel and copy my chair. Yours will be larger, however, as my chair was only a half-barrel size, you know.”
Being only too anxious to copy Verny’s chair, the four girls began work with a will. They took turns in sawing through the staves, even as they had been advised to do in building the hut, and this spared their muscles feeling lame or tired from the movement of the arm while sawing the hard wood.
“I’ll leave you now to finish the chair, while I hunt along the mountain trail to find certain dye materials,” said the Captain, as the work on the chair progressed finely.
But the barrel-chair was finished before Mrs. Vernon returned. “I couldn’t find a thing that would do. I hunted most thoroughly, too. You see, it is too early for walnuts – if they were ripe we could stain the wood and burlaps a fine brown. Then I looked for different wild plants that will dye things, but there were none.”
“Verny, Eliza colors our Easter eggs with onion peel. I see you have a lot of onions in the store-room, but I am not sure they will color burlap,” said Betty.
“Just the thing, Betty! How wonderful of you to remember it. We will boil the skins until the water is a deep brown-orange and then we will try it on the burlap.”
The onions had to be peeled, and this was not a pleasant task, as eyes began to weep and the girls had to sniffle as they skinned the onions, but they were determined to finish their upholstery work as long as they had started it.
The onion peels were placed over a fire to simmer slowly and the girls then went to work on the excelsior filling for the cushions. Meantime, Mrs. Vernon cut the burlap the required sizes to fit the seats of the chairs, and also cut oval panels for the backs.
Well, the onion peel dyed the material a soft ochre color, and was tried on the barrel-wood too. But it failed to stain that. The cushions were tacked down with small tacks, and the chairs looked most inviting to the manufacturers.
Each scout took a turn in trying the chairs, and each pronounced them most luxurious, but Mrs. Vernon withheld such high praise as “luxury,” saying instead “They’re hard as rocks!”
“Now what can we build?” asked Ruth, showing intense interest in this form of occupation.
Mrs. Vernon laughed. “Do you want to begin something else?”
“Might as well, Verny. The hut has to be furnished now, as long as you have launched us along that line,” Julie replied, laughingly.
“A table is easy to build, but you have to cut down the material for the legs.”
“Where do table-legs grow – we’ll cut them down,” returned Joan, comically.
“Wherever you find small birch-trees growing thickly together, you can cut one out. Never chop down a tree that stands alone, as it will mean shelter and shade in time to come. But a small tree can always be spared, if there are several growing in a group. The others will fare better for the thinning out.”
“How many shall we cut?” now asked Betty.
“Bring four, each one about two inches in diameter. We will use the thickest end of each trunk for legs, the middle sections for chair-backs, and the smallest ends for arms.”
Provided with the ax, hatchet, and woodsman knife, the scouts started on their quest. After they had gone, Mrs. Vernon detached one side of a packing-case and removed any nails left in the wood. As this section of the case had reinforced pieces along the outer edges, it would be a strong table-top.
The rest of the day was used in building the table, and a queer looking object was the result. It was a cross between a stool and a four-legged pedestal. It was rather wobbly, too, as Ruth had sawed one leg shorter than those made by her three scout companions.
“It might tip over, Ruth, if a visitor leans upon it,” said Mrs. Vernon.
“We’ll keep a stone under that leg. It won’t joggle if it’s boosted up,” explained Ruth.
“But the stone may slip out, or should one wish to move the table about, the stone will have to be carried about too.”
“Goodness me, Verny! What can I do? I can’t stretch it!” cried Ruth, distractedly.
Every one laughed, but the Captain said: “No, it won’t stretch, but can’t one of you scouts suggest a remedy?”
When they realized that they all were called upon to share the responsibility of the tilting table, they puckered their foreheads and put on their thinking-caps.
“I know! We’ll tack a little end of the wood to the bottom of the leg,” called Joan, excitedly.
Ruth cast a scornful look at Joan, as much as to say: “I’d like to see any one sticking a block under that leg!”
“Verny, we might take the leg off and saw a new one,” suggested Betty.
“We could, and I suppose that would be the only correct way to do it, but I am thinking of another and easier way,” replied the Captain.
“Oh! I guess I know! How will it do to saw all three legs off so they will be the same length as Ruth’s short one?” exclaimed Julie, slapping her knee.
Mrs. Vernon smiled for that was what she wanted the scouts to discover. At the same time, she was deeply interested in the fact that Julie always seemed to catch her thoughts and express them exactly as she might have done. This showed her that Julie was very mental, and was open to every good and helpful suggestion from thought-waves.
That evening the Captain said: “It feels as if we might have rain soon. I hope it doesn’t come before Wednesday, as I am conscious of neglecting an important work.”
“What is it?” cried four anxious voices.
“Hepsy’s shed. You see we were going to build her stable as soon as we completed the house, but we began our furniture instead. Hepsy had enjoyed the fresh air and fine pasturage on the plateau this last week, but she dislikes the rain.”
“Oh, dear! I forgot all about her shed,” cried Betty.
“So did we. If she only had complained now and then! But she went about her business so quietly!” sighed Joan.
“Verny, if it rains we must invite Hepsy into our hut! If we neglected to build her shed because of our fine furniture, then she must be admitted to the palace itself!” said Ruth, decidedly.
“That’s what we will, Verny! Hepsy won’t hurt the hut.”
And the Captain secretly exulted to find that Ruth was fast forgetting self in feeling responsibility for others – even a horse; while the other scouts thought nothing of their work unless it was put to some good use.
But it did not rain that night, nor in the morning, although the sky was gray and overcast. Hepsy had a shed all built before the first drops fell late that afternoon; there were several liberal ventilation crevices between the logs of the sidewalls, however.
The floor of the shed had been laid à la corduroy style – as so many boggy roads are built upon in the west. The logs in this case were placed side by side in a bed of clay, and when the girls pressed down firmly upon the flooring, the clay oozed up between the joints and hardened there. In a few days the floor would be as solid as a rock and could be washed off with broom and water.
Hepsy had more than enough dry leaves for a bedding that first night, as the scouts thought she might take cold if she slept on the damp floor. Mrs. Vernon smiled, but said nothing as she knew the heap of leaves would keep Hepsy from cutting the soft clay with her hoofs. When the flooring was hard and dry nothing could hurt it.
Supper that night was rather a gloomy affair as everything was wet, and the fire would not burn. So they gathered in the hut and ate cold food. This started a discussion on fireplaces.
“You said maybe there was a chance of building a chimney,” ventured Joan.
“Yes, but we have been doing so much, I forgot about it,” confessed the Captain.
“A fireplace would feel great on a night like this,” said Julie.
“Verny, if clay will harden in chinks of the walls, and make a solid flooring, why won’t it hold stones together in a chimney?” now asked Ruth, eagerly.
“It will, if we can find stones that will fit properly. I wouldn’t attempt to do the mason work with round cobble-stones such as are used in most chimneys in bungalow houses.”
“Did you mean it when you said a chimney might be built if we leaned it against the rocky wall back of the rear wall of the hut?” asked Joan.
“No, I was only fooling when I spoke of leaning it – because a chimney has to be most accurately constructed or it will smoke one out of the place.”
“Let’s build the chimney to-morrow!” begged Ruth, eagerly.
“Oh, my dears! We haven’t done anything but build – build – build since we’ve been here. There are so many other things I want you to do that a chimney can wait.”
“If we agree to do what other things you want us to, why can’t we use the forty-five minutes of recreation that is ours each day to build the chimney?” persisted Ruth.
Mrs. Vernon laughed. But the eager faces of the girls showed her they were in earnest. Besides, what difference did it make in the end whether she was teaching them to build a stone chimney or how to mend a pair of stockings? If it was true work and done with the right motive back of it, it was progressive.
So she finally said: “All right, you may have two hours a day for chimney work, and the rest we will devote to my pursuits.”
“Hurrah! we ought to finish the chimney in three days!” exclaimed Julie.
Thus the second week passed quickly away. The little stone chimney was finished and presented a very artistic addition to the room. But it became so much smaller as it rose higher, that at the top it was only large enough for a tiny opening for the escape of smoke. Unfortunately, this caused the fireplace to smoke dreadfully when a fire was started, but once the bed of embers was well started, an additional bit of wood judiciously used did not cause every one to choke and run from the room.
In one of the hikes, the scouts had found a wild grapevine, but it had been severed from the root, and hung from the tree-trunk without leaves or fruit. It was more than an inch thick, so Mrs. Vernon had the girls carefully cut it down and carry it back to camp.
“The graceful curves of this twisted vine will make the prettiest chair imaginable, with back, arms and legs entwined, and holding up the seat of boards. Smaller bits of the gnarled vine will make flower-brackets, rustic hanging-baskets, and also a cord by which to suspend the signboard of Dandelion Camp,” remarked the Captain.
“If we only had a Turkish rug for the floor, our hut would look wonderful!” sighed Joan, admiring the latest additions.
“Why cry for the moon when you can have the sun?” laughed Mrs. Vernon.
“What do you mean? Did you bring a rug?” asked Joan, quickly.
“Oh, we forgot that crex mat, didn’t we? Do you suppose it is still down in the bushes?” asked Betty, anxiously.
“I quite forgot it myself, girls. But that was not what I meant just now. The moment Joan mentioned a rug, I thought of something I read about in the Handbook. We ought to weave a mat of grass or willows for that palace.”
“If we only could! It would be so in keeping,” said Betty, softly, that her voice would not interrupt the others who were loudly acclaiming this idea from the Captain.
“I wish to goodness Sunday were a week away so we could finish up all the fine plans we have started,” sighed Ruth.
“Well, Ruth, only our folks are coming out this Sunday, you know, and we needn’t mind them much. If it wasn’t that we needed ’Liza’s cake and bread and other things, we could have postponed the call for a week,” said Betty, condolingly.
As usual, Betty’s candor made them laugh, and Mrs. Vernon said: “Yes, I fear our invitation had an awfully big string to it this week.”
CHAPTER TEN – A FOURTH OF JULY OUTING
Saturday night the scouts and Mrs. Vernon planned the dinner for the next day.
“We’ll use some of those onions, and cut potatoes into dice to add to them; then I’ll take a small can of tomatoes, some rice and a bit of bacon, and make a good chowder of the whole. If we only had a few of the little fish Joan caught the other day, they would give it a fine flavor,” suggested the Captain.
“You said we might open a jar of our strawberry preserve, Verny,” reminded Julie.
“Yes, but not for a course; it is too precious for anything but dessert.”
“After the chowder, what can we have?” asked Ruth.
“We’ll boil that artichoke root we dug up this morning. When that is seasoned it tastes just like salsify. If Eliza doesn’t bring any meat, we can run along the mountain-path and cut one of the beefsteak mushrooms I showed you yesterday. I doubt if your folks will be able to tell the difference between it and a tenderloin steak,” the Captain said, chuckling.
“My, won’t they be surprised when they see all we have learned in two weeks!” exclaimed Betty, proudly.
“I hope it doesn’t rain to-morrow,” ventured Julie.
“Yes, ’cause we’ve got to have Eliza’s supplies!” added her twin sister.
“Can you think of anything else that’s novel, Verny, for dinner?” asked Joan.
“We can cut enough dandelion leaves in the morning to have a salad”; Mrs. Vernon glanced doubtfully at Ruth as she spoke.
Ruth caught the look and laughed: “Are you afraid I am going to boil over because you mentioned dandelions?”
“Well, I didn’t know how you might take it?”
“I’ll confess; I’d just as soon call the camp ‘dandelion’ as anything else, for now I appreciate what that digging did for us.”
“I’m so glad, Ruthy; now I can paint that sign. Do you know girls why I refused to hang out the sign you wanted? It was because we were not unanimous in the selection of a name. As Ruth’s objection is removed I will have the sign ready for next Sunday when the Allisons and Bentleys visit us.”
“Did you save that fine ash board you selected the very first day we came here?” asked Ruth.
“Yes, and to-morrow I’ll show it to you – ready to burn.”
“Burn?” came from four girls.
“Yes; I am going to etch the name ‘Dandelion Camp’ in the wood with a red-hot poker, and sketch the dandelions about the name in pyrography, also. Then we can tint the flowers and leaves. You haven’t any idea how soft and beautiful the burnt tones blend with yellow and green paints.”
“It sounds fascinating – I wish I could do it,” said Joan.
“You each may practice and when you can handle the iron well enough, you might try to do little things like book-ends or wall-brackets.”
“We got as far on the bill-of-fare as dandelion salad, Verny, and then switched off on something new – as usual,” laughed Julie.
“That was the end of my menu, as far as I could provide any,” returned the Captain.
Sunday morning it was decided to go for the beefsteak mushrooms and cook them for dinner, even if Eliza brought meat. In that case, they would keep the meat for dinners the following days and give the visitors a treat by having tenderloin steak (?).
Ruth proved her statement that she had outgrown her dislike of dandelions by offering to cut enough plants for the salad. When she returned to camp she had a fine mess of young leaves, and after washing them clean, left them in cold water until wanted.
Joan and Julie had offered to get up early and go for berries. Mrs. Vernon was dubious about berry-picking being in order for scouts on Sunday, when there was enough dessert already on hand.
“But why not? It is wholesome study of nature’s own fruit, you know,” argued Joan.
“Verny, we really must have a dessert for those who do not like preserves, you know. Otherwise father will eat the whole jar of our strawberry preserves,” added Julie.
So the two girls prevailed over the Captain’s mild scruples and hurried down the road to the strawberry field. Before the Lee family arrived, everything was done and ready for their reception.
Eliza, as anticipated, had smuggled a host of good things into the surrey, and when Mr. Lee and May were listening to all that the scouts had accomplished during the week, she transferred the larder hidden in the harness box of the surrey to the camp-larder in the old hut.
As they sat down to dinner, John began showing symptoms of disapproval of his soup (chowder, the scouts called it), and carefully placed his dish upon the rock before him.
“The chowder smells delicious, girls,” said May, as the aroma rose to her nose.
“It’s just as good as it smells, too,” said Julie.
“Is every one served now, Jule?” called Joan, who was waitress for the day.
“Yes, and all anxious to begin – hurry and sit down,” Julie replied.
Joan took her plate and sat down nearest the board from which she had to serve the dinner. John waited smiling knowingly as he sat and watched the others.
Mr. Lee was the first to take a spoonful of chowder. He frowned for a moment, then took a second taste. His mouth puckered and he looked questioningly at Eliza as if to ask her what was wrong with it.
May had already taken her spoonful and immediately cried: “For goodness sake! Who cooked this chowder?”
“Verny – why?” hastily asked the girls.
“Why? Well just taste it!”
Every one had had a good mouthful by this time and every one looked at the Captain reproachfully.
“Really! I’m sure I didn’t salt this chowder as heavily as this! I tasted it just before you arrived and it was delicious,” exclaimed Mrs. Vernon in self-justification.
Joan now looked dreadfully concerned. She tasted the soup and then made a wry face. But she was not going to have any one falsely accused, so she spoke up:
“Verny, you know when you told me to salt something-or-other, I thought you meant chowder; so I put in as much as I felt it needed. Maybe I misunderstood you.”
“Oh, Joan! I called to you and said not to salt the chowder because I saw you seasoning everything you could find!”
Joan looked so woe-begone that every one laughed, and Betty said regretfully: “It’s too bad, Joan, ’cause the chowder was cheap so it was to be the filler, you know. Now we won’t have enough dinner without eating our preserves.”
That made every one scream with merriment, and the salty soup was passed by without further reproach. While waiting for the steaks (?) John cleared his throat as a signal, and said:
“You won’t see me here again this summer.”
“Why not?” queried his sisters.
“’Cause I’m going to camp on Wednesday – Daddy fixed it with the Master at our gym.”
“Going to wash dishes?” teased Julie, winking at Eliza.
“Nope! But I’m going to keep the grounds clean. I have to pick up papers and see that nothing is littered around. Every time I leave trash about, I get fined, so I’ll have to be awake.”
“What splendid practice that will be for you, Johnny. When you come back home, you ought to have the habit so strong that Eliza won’t have to run after you at every step,” declared Julie.
“I know John will make a fine scout for that work,” added Betty.
Being a regular boy, John wouldn’t thank Betty for her kind words but he mentally decided that she was a bear!
The beefsteak mushrooms were a great success and no one could tell what they were eating. Boiled potatoes, artichokes, dandelion salad with Eliza’s French dressing, and a gravy of browned flour, made a fine dinner to go with the steak. Then followed the berries and generous slices of fresh layer cake brought from home. When dinner was over, John frowned and said: “Is this all we get?”
“All! my goodness, isn’t it enough?” demanded Julie.
“Not for Sunday’s dinner. I bet we’ll have a regular feast at our camp, all right!”
“You couldn’t have such cake if you baked for ages!” retorted Julie.
“Cake – pooh! Fellers don’t want cake. We want man’s dinners,” bragged the boy.
“I noticed you ate every crumb, just the same!”
“That’s ’cause I am hungry and had to.”
“Seein’ es how yuh despise my cake, I’ll see you don’t have to eat none of it whiles you are at camp,” said Eliza, at this point of the altercation between brother and sister.
John gasped, for he had already boasted to his boy-chums who were going to camp with him that he could have cakes and lots of goodies sent to him every week!
That afternoon the visitors were escorted about the woods; every beautiful nook and dell was duly admired, and when it came time for good-bys both sides felt that they had had a fine visit.
“We’ll look forward to coming again when it is our turn,” observed Mr. Lee, as he climbed into the surrey.
“We’ll be looking as anxiously for you as you will for us,” Betty replied.
May grinned, for she understood why they would be welcomed. But Ruth said hurriedly: “S-sh! My mother’s coming next and she won’t let your family outdo her in bringing goodies. May, do tell her all you brought to-day.”
Every one laughed at that frank confidence, and the Lees drove away feeling happy and proud of the way their girls were improving under the scout life.
As they trudged back up the hill, Joan said: “Is any one expected for the Fourth?”
“Not that I know of – I forgot the Fourth comes this week,” Mrs. Vernon replied.
“What can we do, Verny? We haven’t any fire-works,” said Betty.
“We’ll have to think out a suitable plan with which to celebrate the National Birthday.”
That evening about the camp-fire, it was discussed and finally voted upon to go for a long outing on the Fourth.
“But where? We don’t want to go down into civilization, you know,” said Ruth.
“Can’t we pack up a dinner and go away off somewhere?” suggested Joan.
“We can drive Hepsy and ride in the buckboard,” added Julie.
“Hepsy hasn’t had much exercise lately, and she’s getting too lazy; it will do her good to thin down somewhat,” laughingly said Mrs. Vernon.
“Verny, did you ever hear of Bluebeard’s Cave, ’way back on this mountain?” asked Julie, glancing slyly at her companions.
“I have, but how did you hear of it?”
“Now you’ve got to tell her!” exclaimed Betty, while Joan and Ruth tried to hush her.
“What does this mean – what is there to tell, scouts?” asked Mrs. Vernon, seriously.
“Oh, it isn’t anything – much. Only a little joke we had on you a long time ago,” began Joan, stammeringly.
“Better tell me all about it and end it,” advised Mrs. Vernon, not a little surprised, for she wondered if the girls had ever tried to find the cave, which she knew to be dangerous without a grown person or a lantern to guide them.
“Do you remember the day we built the roof on the hut?” asked Julie, giggling.
“Yes, it was the neatest work you ever did – before or since.”
“But we didn’t do it!” exclaimed Ruth, also giggling.
“You didn’t! Then who did!” gasped the Captain, amazed.
The girls laughed merrily. This was just the sort of a surprise they had looked for. They never thought of the danger in the cave that had worried the Captain, so there was no reason why they should not laugh and enjoy the joke.
Mrs. Vernon saw immediately that there was no ground for her fear, so she managed to laugh too. “What is the joke, girls?”
“You had no sooner gone, that day, when a young woodsman came across the plateau. He lives way back on the last crest,” began Joan, eagerly, but Julie interpolated with: “In winter he traps fur-bearing animals and sells the pelts. He was out hunting that day. He had a gun in his hands and a loaded revolver in his belt.”
“He asked us if we weren’t afraid to camp here alone,” added Betty.
“And we laughed at him. We told him you were always with us, so we were not alone.”
“He then said, we ought to have a big dog to keep away tramps, but we said he was the first stranger we ever saw about. Then we showed him our hut and the roof we had to make. But he laughed.”
“Yes, he laughed, because he said we were doing it wrong. Then he leaned the gun against a tree and showed us how to roof the place properly,” said Ruth.
“He told us always to place a gun with the barrel aiming up or down. Never to lean it sideways or lay it on the ground. He told us how many hunters are accidentally killed through carelessness in handling their firearms,” explained Betty.
“He said he wanted to see you and tell you something, so he waited around, but finally he had to go. We made each other promise not to tell you that day as we wanted you to think we did the fine roof,” concluded Julie, laughing merrily.
