THE PIGEON COTE.
The pleasure of looking at the lake and enjoying its water falls and
the water fowl that played about in the lower end most of the time,
did not wear away in a few days, but the desire to constantly stand on
the shore and gaze at the water, began to pall in a few days’ time.
The scouts never ceased to love and appreciate the spot; and almost
every evening the three girls from the village, the scouts from the
camp, and the girls from the house, met under the pines to enjoy the
cool of the evening on the lake shore.
Janet had added pigeons to her stock by this time, but they would not
remain at Green Hill. The first day she allowed them their freedom,
she watched with pleasure as they flew up in the blue sky. But then
they made straight for Dorothy Ames’s farm where they had been reared.
Janet wailed and got Frances to drive her over to Dot’s house without
delay. There were her pigeons strutting about with the others, and
pecking deliberately at the corn on the ground. They were taken
captives again that night and brought back to Janet.
In a few days she let them out of the coop again and again they flew
in a bee-line for home. The girls laughed at this escape, but Janet
was angry and asked Dorothy what could be done to keep them at home to
attend to their business of raising a family.
Dorothy now made a suggestion that sounded well but it meant more
carpenter work. “You might try a small cote for the different kinds,
Janet, and see if they will stay if they have to keep house alone in
pairs.”
Janet spoke of this idea when she returned to Green Hill, and Norma
eagerly added: “Oh, that is just what Mrs. Tompkins told me today. She
says we ought to have our pigeons separated from each other, because
the pouters and fantails never agree, and the tumblers and the common
pigeons always peck at each other and are dissatisfied in having to
live together.”
“I suppose that means I must start a lot of carpentry work again, and
build separate houses,” sighed Janet.
“No, Mrs. Tompkins showed me a cote she made for her ordinary pigeons,
and it looked fine!” said Norma. “She took a big sugar barrel and
after making separate rooms in it, had it mounted on top of a tall
pine tree that had been blasted by lightning.
“Now I looked around our back yard, Janet, and I found a high
telegraph pole that had been split off near the top. As no one uses it
now for wires, or other needs, we can use it for a pigeon cote. I know
just how to fix that barrel, and all you have to do is to have Frances
bring one from Tompkins’ store. I asked him to save a good one for us
and he said he would.”
“Well, that isn’t so bad, if you will make one cote, and some of the
other girls make another, and so on, until I have enough ready for a
dozen pairs of pigeons,” laughed Janet, relieved and optimistic once
more.
Mrs. Tompkins said that the birds didn’t mind _feeding_ on one common
ground, and they even flew into the chicken yards to eat the corn that
is scattered for the hens, but they object to _living_ in the same
quarters. “That is why they fly home again—to get away from their
neighbors.”
“What snobs they must be!” remarked Natalie.
The girls laughed, and Mrs. James said: “It is because they never
learned the Golden Rule. Maybe it will be our work to teach our
pigeons to be socialists.”
“I’d rather build separate coops and let them live their lives their
own way,” retorted Janet.
“Mrs. Tompkins says that once you get the female to set on her eggs
and keep the male penned in with her until the squabs are out, they
will never try to fly away again. But she often keeps hers in prison
for months before they will start raising a family and settle down in
their new home,” said Norma.
So the sugar barrel was brought home from the store and Norma began
work on it exactly as she had been shown. Janet and the other girls
assisted, and in a day’s time the cote was ready to be mounted on the
old telegraph pole.
It had been partitioned off inside to make several coops. There were
three floors in the barrel, and each floor was divided into two
apartments. The doors opened outward so that no one door came directly
in line with the others, and this was done to keep the birds as much
apart as possible.
Perches and a running-board were placed at each door; and there were
perches projecting out beyond each end of the “verandah.” Then a
narrow roof was fastened over each door to keep the rain from beating
in at the opening.
“If only we had a nice cone-shaped roof on the top of the barrel like
Mrs. Tompkins has on hers,” sighed Norma, looking at the flat top of
the barrel head.
“Girls! I have it!” cried Janet, jumping up and starting for the barn
yard as if on wings.
The other girls watched her go and waited wonderingly until she
returned with a large tin cone in her hands.
“There, I bet it will fit on top just as we want it to!” laughed
Janet, inverting the cone and capping the barrel as if it had been
made for it.
“What is it? Where did you get it?” questioned the curious girls.
“I remembered seeing it kicked about the harness room, and Sam said it
was an old broken hopper that had once belonged to a feed chopper. The
pipe and funnel are missing, so it was worthless to the old tenant
when he moved away.”
Norma looked in the hole at the top and said: “We can cork it up with
a bit of fitted wood, Janet.”
“Sam can do that to a dot, ’cause he loves to whittle,” added Natalie.
“We ought to paint the cote before it is mounted on the pole, Janet,”
suggested Belle.
“I am sure we have enough paint left over from the bird houses to do
this barrel,” was Frances’ idea.
So Janet ran down to the cellar and brought out the several cans of
paint, with a little in each tin. “Not enough of one shade to go
around, though,” said she, after examining the tins.
“Listen, girls! Let’s mix all the paints in one pail, and add enough
turpentine or oil to thin it out as we need it. But keep the green
paint separate to use to trim the cote and roof.”
“Sam has some brown-red paint at the barn that will do to paint the
roof red. It will look better if it is a contrasting color from the
trimming,” suggested Janet.
“All right, Jan, you run and bring the red-brown can while we mix
these other paints together and see what color it makes,” said Natalie
eager to experiment.
Janet went for the red roof paint, while her friends mixed the other
paints thoroughly together, and then called on Mrs. James to bring
them some oil and turpentine. She went to the kitchen catch-all closet
and found the two bottles, then took them over to the busy girls.
“Don’t use much linseed oil, girls, as it will keep the paint from
drying quickly. Turpentine dries almost instantly,” said Mrs. James,
handing the bottles to Norma.
When the mixing was finished the girls were delighted to find that the
tiny bit of russian blue in a can, the small amount of ivory black,
the dab of scarlet, and the half pail of flake white paints made a
soft grey almost like a dove’s tipped wings. This was applied to the
barrel sides and bottom; and then Janet returned with the red-brown
paint.
The cone was fastened to the top of the barrel and when it was painted
no one would have known what it had been before it became a roof on
the pigeon cote. Then the verandahs and perches and roofs over the
doors were painted green, and the stakes that projected from the top
and bottom of the barrel were also painted green.
“It will take until tomorrow to dry, girls,” said Mrs. James, when the
painting was finished.
“Meantime, we are going to Tompkins’ store and see how soon we can get
some more sugar barrels. This cote is so pretty it will be a
decoration to our back garden,” said Janet.
“And when we go to the store, remember to get some more wire netting
to nail these projecting stakes in order to keep the birds in their
prison until the family is started,” reminded Norma.
When the cote was dry and the wire was fastened about it to keep the
inmates from flying away, Sam was called upon to climb the long ladder
and saw off the end of the telegraph pole, so the cote would be about
twenty feet above the ground.
This was no trouble for him, for he had been sawing so much since the
day he tried to square off the clothes pole that he soon had the high
pole evenly sawed and ready for the cote.
Several heavy iron brackets had been secured at the store to insure
the safety of the cote once it was on top of the pole. Then Sam
climbed the ladder again and the girls hoisted the barrel cote up to
him by means of a rope and pulley.
At last the nice-looking cote was up and it looked very good, too. Sam
suggested that the old grey pole be painted a dove color but Janet
discovered that there was no paint left in the can. Some one had
kicked it over in their zeal to pull the barrel up to the top of the
pole, and the remaining paint had trickled out upon the ground.
“Oh, that pole is near enough the grey color of the cote,” called
Natalie impatiently.
“We can give it a coat of paint next year, if we think it will look
better,” added Janet.
“But Norma wanted it to look good for the rest of this summer,”
ventured Mrs. James.
“Yes, it is in _my_ garden, and I don’t want any old things to ruin
the appearance of my flowers,” admitted Norma.
“Why won’t a lot of vines look fine, if you train them to climb up the
pole?” asked Belle. “I’ve seen the poles in country gardens covered
with morning glories and other vines!”
“That’s just what I will do, Jimmy!” declared Norma, turning to her
adviser for approval.
That same day, Janet brought home her prodigal pigeons for the fifth
time, but this time two pairs of the ordinary kind were placed in
Norma’s cote and left there to start housekeeping. When the ladder was
finally removed and the girls stood smiling at the fine result of
their work, and the way the pigeons would have to remain at home after
this, Rachel walked across the grass.
“I’m wonderin’, Honey, how you-all is goin’ to feed dem birds, ef day
is wired in dat away?”
The girls gazed at each other in blank astonishment, and Mrs. James
had to sit on the inverted butter tub and laugh. No one had given a
thought of how the birds were going to be fed.
Sam had started for the barn yard with the ladder, but he was suddenly
recalled. He dropped the ladder to come back and see what was wrong,
but Janet called out: “Bring the ladder with you.”
When he had rejoined the group, Rachel laughingly said: “Dese wise
pigeon trainers done gone and forgot how to feed dem birds, Sam!”
Then her nephew laughed as loud and as long as Mrs. James had done.
Still that did not solve the problem of feeding the pigeons, so Sam
wiped his eyes and studied the cote from where he stood. Finally he
made a brilliant suggestion.
“You hoisted dat coop like it was a fedder, and I don’t see what’s to
hinder you f’om hoistin’ corn and feed to the roof and den yankin’ on
the rope to turn over the tin what holds it. Let the cracked corn and
other feed roll down onto the piazza floors for the pigeons to pick
up.”
“That’s a great idea, but how about the drinking water?” demanded Mrs.
James.
“Well, I dun’no about dat. Let someone else remember a great idee for
dat,” was Sam’s reply, as if he had performed his duty in thinking of
a way to settle the feed problem.
“Now that it is up and the birds living in the cote, I don’t see what
else you can do except to leave the ladder against the pole and have
Sam climb up twice a day to feed them,” remarked Frances.
“Water once a day, and feed night and mornin’,” said Sam, as if
learning a lesson by memory.
“We’ll just have to leave it that way until I see Mrs. Tompkins and
ask her what can be done,” said Norma resignedly.
“Do they only need corn while they are caged?” asked Janet anxiously
of every one.
“Mrs. Tompkins said we had best give them the same sort of food they
would get if they were flying about at liberty. They need grit and
lime and sand mixed in a dish and placed where they can get all they
want of it. We must sprinkle sand and gravel over the floor of the
promenade, too, for them to scratch in, all they like. When the hen
bird lays her eggs and starts brooding over them, the male bird will
feed and care for her. As soon as the little ones are hatched we can
remove the wire and let them have their liberty,” said Mrs. James.
“Suppose the pair on one floor of the house start a family, before the
other birds think of it, and you remove the wire. They will fly away
again, just as they did from the barn,” said Janet.
“We won’t take away the wire from the front of the coops unless all
the birds settle down to raising their families. Only one pair of
birds will be given their liberty at a time,” said Norma.
Several barrels were secured from Tompkins’ store after that, but the
others were small half-barrel sizes which the girls preferred, because
they would only have to have two families in one cote, and that would
simplify the troubles of a flat owner.
The new cotes were placed upon much lower posts and poles, too, so the
problem of feeding the pigeons while they were in captivity was easier
to solve.
Sam had found a small American flag in the roadway one day, and this
he stuck in the top of Norma’s large cote, where it flew patriotically
and made the pigeons sit with heads on one side eyeing this emblem of
their native land.
In about a week’s time after the first pair of pigeons were kept
captives, Sam shouted one morning: “The lady bird done gone laid two
aigs! Hurrah!”
The news was so thrilling that every scout in both the patrols had to
climb that ladder and have a peep at the expectant mother, but the
male bird scolded and snapped at their faces so daringly, that they
really saw nothing after they had reached the top of the ladder. So
each one came down again.
The day after Norma had finished her cote for the pigeons she began
turning her full attention to her flowers, once more. Not that she had
neglected them past all hope, but they had not been the sole ambition
of her time during the extra diversions of water gardening and
cote-building.
It was during the week that followed the parents’ visit to Green Hill,
that Janet went with Frances and Belle for a visit to a distant
farmer’s who advertised young squabs for sale cheap. Janet decided
that it would be far easier to raise some other owner’s squabs than to
try to keep enough pigeons on hand to hatch out the young birds at
home.
When she returned from that shopping trip, she plainly showed that she
had made a daring venture. Frances and Belle were hardly able to keep
from laughing at what they knew, so Mrs. James said:
“Come, tell us what it is all about, Janet!”
“Well, I’ve gone and bought a ewe and two dear little twin lambs!”
declared she, with the air of a king who can do no wrong.
“Oh, really!” exclaimed the two girls who had remained at home. “How
cute they must be?”
But Mrs. James seemed concerned. “How can you take care of them,
Janet? Are they grown enough to feed themselves?”
“Oh, no, but that is the cutest thing about them, Jimmy! You should
see them follow the mother about and try to get a drink. She actually
cuffs them over the ears when she thinks they have no need of more
milk,” laughed Janet.
“When are they coming here?” asked Norma eagerly.
“The man said he would deliver them tomorrow morning. I only paid him
for the squabs, Jimmy, as I had no money left. I wonder if you can
loan me the price of the ewe and lambs?”
“Certainly, Janet. But do not neglect Susy now that you have a few new
toys. Poor Susy went hungry this morning because you forgot all about
her. So Sam gave her her breakfast.”
“Oh, my darling Susy!” cried Janet, turning to run for the enclosure
where the calf was kept.
“All that endearment won’t do any good now, Janet,” laughed Belle.
“All the stuff you fed Seizer that morning did him more harm than
good,” added Frances, hoping to impress Janet with her serious
responsibilities.
The ewe and lambs arrived the next morning, and the man left them in
the pasture lot with Sue, although neither member of Janet’s
increasing family cared a fig whether there were lambs to gambol about
the field or not.
Sam and Janet hastily constructed a shed and yard for the lambs and
the ewe, and that night they were closed in to sleep upon the nice
fresh straw.
In the morning, when Janet went to gather the new-laid eggs, she
stopped to have a peep at the lambs. They were constantly running
after the big ewe, but she kept out of their reach and slyly managed
to dodge their every effort to get at her.
Janet hurried back to the house and reported on the ewe and lambs,
then added: “They were blatting so pitifully I wonder if anything is
wrong?”
Thereupon every one started for the barn yard to visit the lambs. Just
as Mrs. James reached the fence of the enclosure, a harrowing sight
was presented to the interested watchers. The ewe had slipped back and
forth so many times to elude the lambs, and they kept jumping about to
reach her and nurse from her, for they were hungry, when the old one
suddenly turned and butted her solid forehead against the nearest
lamb.
It was instantly flattened against the side of the shed, while the old
ewe turned her attention to the other teaser. The butted lamb bleated
such mournful cries that the girls felt like crying for it. While the
ewe was dealing justice to the second little lamb, the first one
managed to creep up unawares behind her and try to snatch a drink of
milk.
The ewe then kicked lustily and sent the little wobbly thing sprawling
out on the ground.
“Oh, you inhuman mother, you!” shrilled Janet angrily.
“Isn’t she horrid to her children?” added Natalie.
“We’ll just _make_ her feed those darlings!” declared Norma, as she
saw Sam crossing the yard, and beckoned him to come over.
When the story of the wicked mother had been told Sam, he said wisely:
“Mebbe she wants to wean ’em.”
“But she just can’t, Sam, until they are old enough to feed
themselves,” returned Janet.
“I’se seen lambs fed in a bottle till they was big enough to pick fer
themselves,” ventured Sam.
“A bottle? Like a baby?” chorused the interested girls.
“Yeh, onny some bigger, ’cus a lamb wants more at one feedin’, you
know.”
“Oh, that will be fun. Let’s send to Four Corners for the rubber
nipples and the bottles,” laughed Belle.
The girls were so interested in this new idea that they left Mrs.
James still watching the ewe and lambs, while they rushed to the house
to ask Rachel questions.
“Have you got a big bottle that we can use to nurse the lambs?” asked
Natalie, quite out of breath when she reached the door.
“We need two bottles, Rachel!” added Janet.
“How big mus’ they be?” asked Rachel.
“Oh,—how big, Sam?”
“Big nuff to hold about a pint each, Aunt Rachel.”
“I got some catsup bottles what hol’ a little more’n a pint a piece,
Sam,” said Rachel.
“Them will do, where are they?” returned Sam.
“On the swing-shelf, down cellar. You kin git ’em,” replied Rachel,
going back to her baking.
Sam soon produced the bottles from the cellar, and then said: “Now all
you want is them rubber nipples.”
So all four girls accompanied Frances on a special trip to Four
Corners to buy the nipples from Tompkins.
“But I only got one nipple left in stock, gals,” was Mr. Tompkins’
disconcerting reply. “You see, Four Corners ain’t had no baby fer nigh
onto a year now and my old customer what used to buy them moved away
in winter.”
“Well, we will take the one, and have to telephone to White Plains for
more,” said Janet anxiously.
“I’d better drive there for more, Janet,” suggested Frances.
“Oh, yes, but we will take this one with us, Mr. Tompkins.”
While Janet was paying for it, she told Mr. Tompkins about the need
for it. When he heard how the ewe refused to allow the twins to nurse,
he said there was something wrong as he had never heard of a mother
ewe who weaned such little lambs.
“I’ll run over this noon and see what ails her,” said Mr. Tompkins.
“Meanwhile, you feed the lambs with a bottle.”
The girls found ample exercise and fun in trying to catch a lamb and
feed it, but once the captive got hold of the nipple, it drank the
bottle empty of milk without stopping. It would choke and sputter
exactly like an infant, and this pleased the girls immensely.
By the time the girls had finished holding the frisky lambs securely,
while another girl held the bottle in its mouth, they all had kicked
shins from tiny hoofs, and their hands and faces were dirty from the
nosing the lambs gave them. But this was considered awfully cute of
the lambs, and the girls ran back to the house, when the feeding was
over, to wash their hands and faces.
That morning the old ewe kept quiet and only moved when the lambs
teased her beyond endurance. Then Mr. Tompkins came at noon, and the
girls escorted him to the barn yard to hear him pass judgment.
“Why, that ewe will come down with milk fever if she don’t let them
lambs nurse right off!” declared he, as he tried to get a grip on the
ewe and examine her.
“Here, Sam! Sit on her head while we make these lambs nurse out this
caked milk!” said Mr. Tompkins, as he held down the ewe until Sam got
over the fence and did as he was told.
The lambs went to work hungrily, but the ewe resented it so that she
tried to kick and butt, and finally Mr. Tompkins said: “Gals, I don’t
believe she is the mother of these twins. Who sold you the three?”
Janet forgot the man’s name but she described the farm where he lived.
“Why, the old rascal! He tol’ me himself, a few days ago, how his best
ewe died leaving a pair of twins to raise by hand. And a crank mother
lost her lamb and wouldn’t help out the starving twins! So he palmed
them off on you to bother with, eh! Well, we will all go and get him
and make him do what’s right!” threatened Tompkins furiously.
Frances got the car out again, and the girls, with Mr. Tompkins to act
as their representative, started off for the farm.
After a time, Mr. Tompkins said: “Ain’t you drivin’ the wrong road?”
“No, we went this way, all right,” said Janet.
“But the man I mean lives the other way,” said Tompkins.
Just then a farmer’s wagon came in sight, and as the automobile came
opposite it, Janet shouted eagerly: “That’s the man! He sold us the
lambs!”
“Why he ain’ the man I was talking of at all!” said Mr. Tompkins,
chagrined at his mistake.
The farmer pulled in his horses and began, before the girls could
scold him: “I found my man made a mistake, gals. He picked the wrong
mother for them twins. I never knew it until I found the other mother
feverish, and then I saw we had a wrong lamb for her. I got the right
mother in a box in the wagon and I’ll carry my other mother home with
me.”
As this explained the whole trouble satisfactorily, the exchange was
soon made and the little twins were quickly snuggled by their right
mother, while the starving little lamb back on the other farm would
soon have its own mother again.
Then Janet explained how the ewe had butted the poor little lambs when
they wanted to nurse from her and how they got the bottles ready to
care for the hungry little dears.
The farmer laughed and said: “If you think the mother had a temper
because she butted the lamb, you ought to see what the real mother of
these twins did to my man when he tried to make her nurse the lamb
that was left behind. He was stooping to draw the lamb over to her
side when the old ewe lowered her head and in another moment the handy
man was assisted over the fence!”
After the family reunion of lambs and ewe, the twins grew like weeds,
and were able to run about the field after the mother and be weaned in
two weeks’ time. But all this belongs to Frances’ book which follows
this one.
A strict account was kept of Sue’s expenses and the income from the
milk and butter and cheese, also the skim-milk which Janet bought for
the pigs and calf, and at the end of the two weeks, dating from the
Saturday the cow arrived at Green Hill, a corporate meeting was held
to discuss dividends and future expenses of Sue. The profit showed
such encouraging signs of growth that the girls began counting how
long it would take to pay off the borrowed money with which they paid
for Sue, and then begin to have something left to divide between the
stockholders.
When Janet heard how much the skim-milk had cost her in the past two
weeks, she gasped. “Why, Jimmy! If those pigs go on eating like this,
the pork will be worth more than two dollars a pound when fall comes.”
The other girls laughed, and Natalie said: “Then you ought to feed
David and Jonathan more of my tomato vines and let them follow in
Seizer’s steps.”
“Well, I am thankful I am not the sole owner of the cow, too. If we
have to pay Nat for all the cabbages and turnips the cow ate when she
got in the garden the other day, we won’t have any profits to divide,”
said Janet, giggling.
“That’s an item I forgot to charge up,” said Mrs. James.
“But I am to be reimbursed in some way, for my loss, am I not?” asked
Natalie.
As is commonly the case at large stockholders’ meetings, a
disagreement on debts and dividends took place and after a long time
given to explanations about how much Sue cost for keep and the income
on her first product and the by-products, the meeting adjourned
without anything definite having been decided upon.
During the second week of July, the eight girl scouts of Patrol Number
Two attended a council meeting of the Solomon Seal Patrol One, at
which they were informed that Headquarters in New York City had
admitted the Patrols as a first-class Troop, and now the members could
start an intensive drive to win badges and be awarded honors for the
tests given in the handbook.
At this meeting, Miss Mason enrolled the eight Tenderfeet as scouts in
regular standing, and immediately after this welcome information, the
eight girls whispered eagerly to each other of individual plans for
advancement. Then Frances declared herself aloud to all present:
“I take this occasion to let you all know that henceforth you shall
not know me as a jitney conductor, because I have decided to take up
other lines as well. Not that the car is going out of commission—far
be it from me to allow Amity Ketchum to again resume dominion over
Four Corners’ helpless travellers—but I am going to study insects and
the birds, this summer, and take tests.
“I have watched many insects and find they are so very interesting,
and there is so much to learn about their habits and lives, that I
believe they will afford me plenty of pastime and, if I write down
everything I discover, just as Janet told her stock story in the
diary, I can give you scouts many entertainments.
“Besides the insects, I find the birds about this section of
Westchester are very wonderful and rare for the usual temperate
climate. One of the old natives at Bronxville, where Belle had me
drive her the other day in search of a Colonial cupboard for sale,
said that very few sections of the Northern States could boast of so
many tropical birds as nested about the woods in the immediate
vicinity of Bronxville. Yet they seldom went farther North than that
line, and seemed to keep within a definite line all about that
section.
“Belle planned to study bird-life at first in connection with her
antique research, but she believes forestry and art will combine
better with her special line of business. Then, too, Belle likes
domestic science, and will follow that as a recreation.”
When Frances concluded her speech, the scouts applauded and Mrs. James
said, smilingly: “Belle ought to speak now.”
Belle jumped up instantly and remarked laughingly: “All I can say is
that it will be wise for you scouts to keep on good terms with me,
after I have experimented more with my domestic science; as I can
either treat you well with my finished products or kill you off with
heavy biscuits and doughnuts, if you make me an enemy. That’s all.”
When she sat down, the scouts laughed heartily and Janet swore
friendship from that moment on, in order to insure her life, she said.
The Captain now said: “If there is nothing more to take up for
discussion, we will proceed with the scout exercises.”
Then Janet jumped up and called for attention. “We have a most
important matter to discuss but we cannot plan or talk with Jimmy and
you present. Now, which shall we do—adjourn this meeting in order to
discuss our own business, or excuse you two undesirable attendants
until we have concluded our conference?”
Miss Mason laughed and retorted: “I am not accustomed to hearing so
frankly that my company is not wanted, so I shall leave without asking
to be excused.”
Mrs. James took the Captain’s arm and nodded her head approvingly, as
she added: “Them’s my sentiments, too.” And the two departed from the
Council but every one knew what the topic of general interest was.
As the two ladies walked slowly away, the Captain turned and called
out: “Plan all you like, girls, but don’t spend any money on our
double birthday!”
Corporal Janet tossed her head at that, and beckoned to the scouts to
draw closer so they could confer without a word being heard by the two
principals in the case.
“First, I want to know how many have thought of a novel idea for
entertainment at the party on the sixteenth?” asked Janet.
So many girls raised a hand that Janet laughed, and then said: “We’d
better begin at this end and go right around the circle. Even if one
of us hasn’t thought out a finished plan, our general discussion may
launch something that will be an improvement on someone else’s
suggestion. Now you begin, May.”
“My idea of entertaining the Captain and her Lieutenant was this: To
invite all the people about Four Corners to a Scout Council and
entertain them in ways that will show them how valuable scouting is. I
have thought of many ways in which we can entertain strangers, and at
the same time, advertise our scout organization.”
“That’s a good idea, May, but would you include _every_ one about Four
Corners, without reservations?” asked Janet.
“Of course! How could we discriminate?”
“I was thinking of Amity Ketchum—would you invite him?” teased Janet.
There was a general murmur of dissent at this and May had to brave the
flash of many eyes as she said: “Even our enemy, for he needs
something good and intelligent more than any one I know of.”
Several scouts applauded this sentiment, and Janet continued: “What
are some of your ways for entertaining, May?”
“There are so many, it is hard to decide on any—there are the stars to
talk about; the wildwood vegetation to describe and its uses
demonstrated; the signs and signals and blazes of scoutdom to
illustrate; demonstrating how a scout camps—pitches tent, digs
latrines, makes fire without matches, finds bedding from the trees,
etc.; and many other vastly interesting things, besides doing our
exercises applied to various needs.”
“Let the Troop Scribe make a note of this plan, as it sounds good to
me, eh, girls?” was Janet’s decision.
“Yes, indeed, it is!” they chorused.
The second scout was one who had not been able to think of any novel
plan for the birthday party, but when she heard May’s idea expressed,
she was able to amend the motion by saying: “Why not make a full
afternoon and evening of the entertainment, and invite Four Corners to
the woods for our share in teaching them scout life, and then let them
invite us to the village school-house for the evening, where we can
give a regular party with ice cream and lots of Belle’s domestic
science cakes?”
Every one laughed at the last suggestion but they also approved of it.
Janet then offered the suggestion for debate, and finally it was
decided by the “yeas” that were it possible to interest enough Four
Corners’ folk, the three village scouts of Patrol Number Two would be
delegated to ascertain all about the hiring of the school-house for
the evening of the sixteenth.
Norma sat next to the girl who amended May’s motion and now she said:
“My party plan is very simple in comparison to May’s, as it was an
idea to go for a fine long hike in the woods and take along enough
floor and cooking needs to have a gypsy dinner in the woods. I thought
we could spend the day and return home at evening and celebrate at the
house with singing and games.”
“Sounds inviting, Norma, but who will keep awake to sing and play in
the evening after a long day on the hike?” was Natalie’s query.
The scout next to Norma now amended the proposition with: “Why not
ride somewhere and play gypsy when we arrive there? Then we won’t be
so weary with walking and can sing or play as Norma suggested, when we
come back home?”
“We all can’t crowd in the automobile,” said Frances.
Then the girl next to the first amender spoke up and said: “My idea
was very similar to the one just announced, but I had thought of using
several farm wagons, such as Ames has, and filling the bottom with
straw for a straw ride to the hills.”
“That, too, sounds alluring, so we will have the scribe jot that
amended plan down for future consideration,” said the Corporal.
The next two scouts had thought of gathering together at Solomon’s
Seal Camp and having refreshments and games. But these ideas were not
approved, so the turn came to Natalie to speak.
“Well, I must say, that it is disappointing to be in the last row of
spectators at the death of the fox,” began she laughingly. “Here am I
with as good a plan as the others, but it has been minced up by the
girls who proposed and those who amended the others.”
The scouts smiled sympathetically—or at least, those girls did who had
not yet spoken. Natalie continued:
“I planned for a morning of hiking in the country; coming home to a
fine dinner out on the lawn under the trees, then a general council
and other gathering at Camp, with our relatives in attendance, and an
evening given over to whatever form of fun we all decided on. I
thought the supper could be served at camp for all who came.”
“Jot that down, Scribe, for discussion,” said Janet, turning to
Frances who came next.
“My idea was along the same lines, but I thought to ask Mr. Marvin and
a friend of his who would have a touring car, to drive out from the
city and take us all for an auto trip in the afternoon, and then we
would invite them to sup and an evening’s entertainment in return,”
explained Frances.
Janet turned to the Scribe and said: “Add to that last memo ‘Frans
says call for two autos from Marvin.’”
Belle’s turn came next and she said, languidly: “I never got past the
idea of baking a huge birthday cake with two great wax candles on top
of it.”
This idea caused a laugh, and Janet approved it at once. “We won’t
need to discuss that, Belle—it is decided upon that you bake the best
and largest cake Rachel can accommodate in the oven, and decorate the
frosting so elaborately that the two monster candles will look all the
funnier on top of it.”
Two of the scouts had ideas for each girl making an individual gift
and presenting it at a Council held in the afternoon. Janet amended
this to the giving of gifts made by the donor, to be held in the
evening.
One of the scouts had a plan for giving an amateur performance, the
play to be written by one of the members, and the acting to take place
in the woods with natural scenery.
“That’s fine! We might try Hiawatha or a play written along such
lines. We must get our heads together and invent a new play something
like Hiawatha, so we can use the stream and the tent and the clearing
in the acts. The play can be part of the afternoon’s entertainment to
the Four Corners’ people,” exclaimed Janet eagerly while the other
scouts all felt agreed on the suggestion.
The next scout had conferred with her neighbor and had agreed to write
the play with her. So she was put down as the playwright. The rest of
the girls had simple plans for entertainment that would fall in line
with the greater ones, but those already jotted down were now
discussed thoroughly, and a programme made up for the time being. This
would be revised as necessity called for. When more than an hour had
passed by and the Captain, with her Lieutenant, returned to camp to
find all the scouts’ heads close together still, the former called
out:
“Council is adjourned for the day!”
The End.
The Girl Scouts Series
BY EDITH LAVELL
A new copyright series of Girl Scouts stories by an author
of wide experience in Scouts’ craft, as Director of Girl
Scouts of Philadelphia.
Clothbound, with Attractive Color Designs.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
THE GIRL SCOUTS AT MISS ALLEN’S SCHOOL
THE GIRL SCOUTS AT CAMP
THE GIRL SCOUTS’ GOOD TURN
THE GIRL SCOUTS’ CANOE TRIP
THE GIRL SCOUTS’ RIVALS
THE GIRL SCOUTS ON THE RANCH
THE GIRL SCOUTS’ VACATION ADVENTURES
THE GIRL SCOUTS’ MOTOR TRIP
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK
Marjorie Dean High School Series
BY PAULINE LESTER
Author of the Famous Marjorie Dean College Series
These are clean, wholesome stories that will be of great
interest to all girls of high school age.
ALL Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH
MARJORIE DEAN, HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN
MARJORIE DEAN, HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE
MARJORIE DEAN, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR
MARJORIE DEAN, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK
Marjorie Dean College Series
BY PAULINE LESTER.
Author of the Famous Marjorie Dean High School Series.
Those who have read the Marjorie Dean High School Series
will be eager to read this new series, as Marjorie Dean
continues to be the heroine in these stories.
All Clothbound Copyright Titles.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
MARJORIE DEAN, COLLEGE FRESHMAN
MARJORIE DEAN, COLLEGE SOPHOMORE
MARJORIE DEAN, COLLEGE JUNIOR
MARJORIE DEAN, COLLEGE SENIOR
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers.
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 East 23rd Street, New York
The Camp Fire Girls Series
By HILDEGARD G. FREY
A Series of Outdoor Stories for Girls 12 to 16 Years.
All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE MAINE WOODS;
or, The Winnebagos go Camping.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT SCHOOL; or, The
Wohelo Weavers.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT ONOWAY HOUSE; or,
The Magic Garden.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS GO MOTORING; or, Along
the Road That Leads the Way.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS’ LARKS AND PRANKS; or,
The House of the Open Door.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ON ELLEN’S ISLE; or, The
Trail of the Seven Cedars.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ON THE OPEN ROAD;
or, Glorify Work.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS DO THEIR BIT; or, Over
the Top with the Winnebagos.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS SOLVE A MYSTERY; or,
The Christmas Adventure at Carver House.
THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT CAMP KEEWAYDIN;
or, Down Paddles.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK
The Blue Grass Seminary Girls Series
BY CAROLYN JUDSON BURNETT
For Girls 12 to 16 Years
All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH
Splendid stories of the Adventures of a Group of Charming
Girls.
THE BLUE GRASS SEMINARY GIRLS’ VACATION ADVENTURES;
or, Shirley Willing to the Rescue.
THE BLUE GRASS SEMINARY GIRLS’ CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS;
or, A Four Weeks’ Tour with the Glee Club.
THE BLUE GRASS SEMINARY GIRLS IN THE MOUNTAINS;
or, Shirley Willing on a Mission of Peace.
THE BLUE GRASS SEMINARY GIRLS ON THE WATER;
or, Exciting Adventures on a Summer’s Cruise Through the Panama Canal.
The Mildred Series
BY MARTHA FINLEY
For Girls 12 to 16 Years.
All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH
A Companion Series to the famous “Elsie” books by the same
author.
MILDRED KEITH
MILDRED AT ROSELAND
MILDRED AND ELSIE
MILDRED’S MARRIED LIFE
MILDRED AT HOME
MILDRED’S BOYS AND GIRLS
MILDRED’S NEW DAUGHTER
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK
The Golden Boys Series
BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D.
Dean of Pennsylvania Military College.
A new series of instructive copyright stories for boys of
High School Age.
Handsome Cloth Binding.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
THE GOLDEN BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC CELL
THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE FORTRESS
THE GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS
THE GOLDEN BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS
THE GOLDEN BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO
THE GOLDEN BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLAGASH
THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK
The Ranger Boys Series
BY CLAUDE H. LA BELLE
A new series of copyright titles telling of the adventures
of three boys with the Forest Rangers in the state of
Maine.
Handsome Cloth Binding.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
THE RANGER BOYS TO THE RESCUE
THE RANGER BOYS FIND THE HERMIT
THE RANGER BOYS AND THE BORDER SMUGGLERS
THE RANGER BOYS OUTWIT THE TIMBER THIEVES
THE RANGER BOYS AND THEIR REWARD
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers.
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 East 23rd Street, New York
The Boy Troopers Series
BY CLAIR W. HAYES
Author of the Famous “Boy Allies” Series.
The adventures of two boys with the Pennsylvania State
Police.
All Copyrighted Titles.
Cloth Bound, with Attractive Cover Designs.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
THE BOY TROOPERS ON THE TRAIL
THE BOY TROOPERS IN THE NORTHWEST
THE BOY TROOPERS ON STRIKE DUTY
THE BOY TROOPERS AMONG THE WILD MOUNTAINEERS
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
of price by the Publishers.
A. L. BURT COMPANY
114-120 East 23rd Street, New York
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
3. Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _example_.
4. The Table of Contents was not present as originally published.