laugh, but Joan never worried about laughter when it was in fun. She
always said, "Well, if it gives any one any satisfaction to laugh at me,
I'm glad to accommodate them so cheaply. It doesn't hurt one."
"Joan's idea is good, and we will follow it as soon as we finish the
frame of the new hut," said Mrs. Vernon.
"We were thinking of moving your cot-bed into the old hut, Verny, but
then we decided to wait and see if you would like it," now suggested
Betty.
"You see, we were a bit crowded last night in the tent, and we thought
you would like some privacy of your own. Being in the old hut might
appeal to your sentimentality," added Julie.
Another laugh rang out, but this time at Mrs. Vernon's expense. She
sighed and posed as a sentimental maiden might, and simpered her thanks
for the scouts' forethought. Then they laughed again.
"Now all joking aside, girls! I appreciate your thought and will gladly
move my hotel-suite to the hut. At least I shall be near the crackers
and prunes if I feel hungry at night," declared Mrs. Vernon.
She then called the girls to assist her in moving her effects from the
tent to the hut, and as they went back and forth the Captain could not
refrain from again voicing her gratification at the manner in which the
scouts finished their first carpentry work.
"If you were fully-fledged scouts of record, you surely would be awarded
a badge."
Behind her back, as she said this, the Captain's four carpenters again
exchanged smiles and knowing winks.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HEPSY JOINS THE SCOUTS' UNION
The next morning, after breakfast dishes were cleared away, the Captain
said: "Now we will give a few minutes to reading our Scout Handbook, and
then practice some new knots. After that we can choose our recreation."
"I don't want to waste any more time on recreation until our new hut is
built," declared Joan.
"Neither do any one of us, Verny," added Julie.
"Well, if that is the general wish, we can work on the hut and call it
recreation, you know," answered Mrs. Vernon.
The moment the knots and reading were finished, they all ran over to the
tool-chest to select whatever implements they might need. Mrs. Vernon
handed out a spade and a pick, but no one took advantage of them.
"What are they for?" asked Ruth.
"We will have to divide the work as we did yesterday. Two can dig the
cellar while two haul timbers for the hut."
"Dig cellar! You haven't any cellar under yours," returned Joan, amazed.
"But we have! Do you suppose those timbers and flooring would have
lasted as long as this if we hadn't excavated a pit under them. The hole
may have filled up with leaves and dried wood material, but all the
earth was cleaned out by digging a cellar at least three feet deep. This
gave ventilation and kept our things from mildewing."
"Why don't we all dig foundations, then, and finish it so much the
sooner?" asked Julie.
"You'll find it isn't the easiest work to stoop over with a pick or
spade and move earth that is filled with heavy stones. Your backs will
ache in a short time, and you'll grow tired of the task. Then I propose
exchanging those weary ones for two fresh diggers," explained the
Captain. "Turn and turn about keeps one from feeling any monotony in the
work."
"All right--send Ruth and Joan off for the first haul of logs," replied
Julie, resignedly.
"But I'd rather dig, Julie, and let you two go for wood," declared Ruth.
"Ha, ha, ha! You're so contradictory! That's just what I hoped you'd
say! 'Cause I'd lots rather drive Hepsy down the hill and hitch her up
to the logs she's got to haul!" exclaimed Julie, exultantly.
Ruth said nothing but took the spade and started for the newly staked
out cellar of the hut. Joan scowled and followed, but she wanted to join
Julie in hauling the logs. Betty understood and ran up to exchange work
with her.
"I'd be a poor scout if I didn't dig alongside Ruth when it's my job!"
returned Joan, when Betty said she would exchange.
"But we all will have to dig and take turns, so what difference will it
make, Joan dear, if I dig now or later?" argued Betty.
"Don't you really care whether you work with Ruth or Julie?" asked Joan,
skeptically, because she liked to be with Julie.
"It's all the same to me, as long as we build the house," returned
Betty, taking the pick and thrusting a hook into Joan's willing hands.
"What's this for?" wondered she.
"Verny says we have to use it to move the timber."
"Great! Well, as long as you don't mind, Betty, I'll run away and find
Julie."
"I can't budge a spadeful of this hard ground, Betty," complained Ruth,
as her companion joined her.
"Oh, not in that way, Ruth. You'll have to remove all the roots and
weeds first, and that will help break up the hardened soil, you know;
'cause the brush-roots run down real deep, you see."
"But I just hate weeding, Betty; can't I dig it up without doing that
extra work?"
"You tried just now and said it was awfully hard! I am going to weed
mine first, and then dig it up."
So saying, wise Betty weeded a patch and then used the pick with which
to break up the ground. This done, she took the spade and, to Ruth's
great surprise, the loosened earth came up readily. The energetic young
scout had made good progress in this work before Mrs. Vernon came over
to inspect the task.
Ruth raised no further objections when she saw how easy the digging was
for Betty; so she weeded, too, and followed her chum's example. Soon she
found the work was not nearly as hard as she had thought it would be.
But that is because she had not stopped to complain or think how hard it
was _going_ to be--she forgot all this in watching and working as Betty
did.
Julie and Joan followed Mrs. Vernon as she led Hepsy down the slope to
the spot where the cut timbers were piled up. Here she showed the girls
how to attach the chain and tackle to a log, and then to hook the chain
to Hepsy's harness.
The strong horse willingly started up the hill and dragged the long log
up to the site where the hut was to be. One girl drove Hepsy carefully
to avoid ruts and snags which might catch the log and thus yank Hepsy up
suddenly and perhaps injure her. The other girl had to follow in the
wake of the log to see that it did not roll or twist out of the pathway,
causing a ruthless tearing at bushes and flowers along the way.
The two girls who were digging found it quite tiresome to lean over so
constantly. When they stood erect to stretch their back muscles, their
bones felt as if they would crack. Ruth complained of her aches long
before the Captain joined them.
Then Mrs. Vernon said: "Ah! I think I was wise in telling you girls to
take turns about. Now I will signal for the two timber-jacks to exchange
work with you."
When the two girls hauling timber responded to the call, they seemed
right glad to exchange labor with the excavators.
"You'll find this digging a pit is simply awful, girls!" exclaimed Ruth,
pretending she could not straighten her backbone.
"It can't be a patch on the job we've been doing!" cried Joan, looking
at her hands with pity in her eyes.
"That's right! When you've had to steer or roll a log a mile long,
you'll have something to say about hard work!" added Julie.
"One would think, after hearing you girls, that you were too soft and
delicate to proceed further in your scout tests," said Mrs. Vernon
seriously. That stopped all complaints instantly.
But Ruth could not help adding: "Girl scouts never work like this in
camp--I'm sure of it."
"Girl scouts would never call _this_ hard work! They'd laugh at any one
for hinting at such a thing. And you'll do the same thing before the
summer's over," said Mrs. Vernon.
"Ah well! Let's prepare for the end of the summer, girls," sighed Julie,
ludicrously.
"Come on, Ruth--take the reins from Julie and let's start," said Betty,
taking the hook and starting down the road.
"By the time you two girls get back here, Betty, we'll show you how you
should dig a cellar," retorted Julie. "Why, you only managed to dig up a
square yard in all this time. You should have had half of the pit
finished."
Betty and Ruth smiled at each other and nodded their heads wisely, then
ran off to help Hepsy with the logs. Mrs. Vernon smiled also as she saw
that each couple would soon learn that nothing is easy until one learns
how to do it right. Then, when that time comes, it generally happens
that one is forced to go higher to a new task. And so on, eternally, for
this is progress and growth.
By the time the horn sounded for another change of work, both diggers
and haulers were glad to exchange back again. Mrs. Vernon was busy about
dinner, for she said such hard labor deserved hearty meals. And the
girls agreed absolutely with her on that statement.
"I say! I'll never find fault with your digging again, Betsy," said
Julie meekly, as she displayed about eighteen inches square of dug-out
cellar, and a row of water-blisters on her hand.
Betty laughed at her sister, but the work continued until the cellar was
dug deep enough and a mass of timbers was waiting to be used. As they
stood admiring their morning's work, Betty said:
"I think Hepsy is the best scout of all."
"Why?" asked the other girls.
"Just see how she worked! She hauled and hauled, and never asked to
exchange for an easier job. And all the time she worked she never
complained once of an aching back or tired muscles. Yet I am sure she
wanted to kick mightily now and then."
A roar of laughter greeted her last words, and Betty guilelessly asked:
"_Now_ what have I said--what is the matter with you girls?"
The call to dinner quickly changed the current of their thoughts,
however, and once seated about the stone table, they fell to with a will
never manifested for plain cookery at home.
"We ought to be able to lay the floor logs and get the corner posts up
this afternoon," suggested Joan.
"I was going to propose a hike downhill in the opposite direction from
the one we took yesterday," said the Captain. "Then, when we return, a
good swim will refresh us all for supper."
"Oh, yes, we've worked enough for one day," said Ruth.
When the scouts were ready to start for the hike, Mrs. Vernon showed
them a note-book. "I'm going to have you take down notes on the flowers,
trees, or birds we find on these hikes. This will prove very desirable
practice when you are admitted as a Troop."
They started off, while Hepsy stood leisurely nosing at her dinner of
oats. This reminded Julie of the funny saying by Betty just before
dinner, and she now repeated it to the Captain.
"I meant, you know, Verny, that Hepsy must have had stiff joints from
all that hauling yet she never kicked once to straighten out the kinks,"
explained Betty, when Julie finished.
"I doubt whether Hepsy felt as tired as you think she did. You must
remember that her spine is almost parallel with the ground over which
she has to pull her loads, and having four legs on which to balance
herself, makes it easier than only having two. The chain and tackle also
simplified the work for Hepsy, but we can't say as much of the hauling
an Indian Squaw has to do.
"Why, the poor squaws do all the lifting and moving of their camps,
through forests, over rough land, and even carrying their papooses in
the bargain. They, too, drag their burdens in a sort of 'cradle' that is
hitched to their waists by means of two leather traces."
"Oh, the poor creatures!" exclaimed ever-ready, sympathetic Betty.
"I'm thankful I'm not an Indian female!" declared Julie, with such
earnestness that the others laughed.
After the usual scout reading from the Handbook the next morning, the
girls hurried to work because they were anxious to see their hut built
and finished. The ardor of accomplishment was beginning to fill their
souls.
That day the cross-beams of the floor were laid and securely fastened at
the corners. Then the other logs were sawed and notched for the
corner-posts. It was impossible to split the timber for rafters, so the
Captain advised the use of smaller tree-trunks for this purpose.
"What shall we do to keep out the rain or wild animals?" asked Ruth,
seeing that no windows had been provided for the old hut.
"We can hang up water-proof canvas in the windows if it rains, but I
have an idea for a door that I want to work on to-morrow," replied the
Captain.
The carpentry now went steadily on, and without friction, as each one
was anxious to see a finished hut. They were tremendously interested in
their work, too, and that always makes a task easy.
Mrs. Vernon superintended everything, and demonstrated a wonderful
knowledge of woodcraft. Then, whenever the carpenters were cheerfully
working without her help, she turned to her own plans. These had
occasioned curious comment from the four girls, because they could not
see what could be built with a lot of short boards which had been taken
from the boxes.
"You'll see when I'm through," replied the Captain to all their
questions.
The scouts worked so industriously that the new side walls were
completed, and they were eager to begin work on the roof. The hut was
much longer than the old one, but its width was the same, as it used the
end wall of the old hut for one side of its own.
The meeting of the two front walls of the huts, however, had been a
problem. The scouts could not figure out how to nail any boards or logs
to a corner post already used for that purpose. But Julie thought out a
scheme.
"We'll leave that meeting place in front, for the door. Then we'll use a
post for the other side of our door, and begin _there_ with the wall."
This was hailed as a fine idea, so they tried it. But the door-lintel
was not as secure as it might be, and the girls dodged in and out to
avoid having it come down upon their heads should it topple. They had no
doubt but that it _would_ fall in sooner or later.
"We're all ready for a roof, Verny, and don't know where to find any
wood for rafters or ridgepole," said Joan, when the Captain walked over
to pass judgment upon the structure.
"That's a dangerous looking lintel, girls."
"Best we could do with what we had," replied Ruth.
"The material is all right, but the construction is careless. Now I have
finished my door, but I wouldn't dare swing it from that frame,"
continued the Captain.
"Oh, were you building a door of those boards?" asked the girls.
"Yes, and I feel quite proud of it, too. Come and see it."
The door was made of boards all the same lengths and thickness but of
different widths. So Mrs. Vernon had grouped them to have all the wide
boards at top and bottom of the door, and the others graduating in
widths until a narrow center one was reached. This made a pretty effect.
They were all securely fastened to a frame made of rough planks, but
this frame would be on the inside so it would not be seen. "We can hang
a drapery, or some vines on this back to hide the unsightly frame," said
the Captain.
Heavy leather hinges were secured to the back edge of the door, and a
latch and handle made of some sheet iron, were bent and cut to fit.
"How did you ever do that without a blacksmith?" asked Joan.
"I played my own blacksmith while you were on your hike this morning. I
heated an old piece of wagon-tire and hammered it flat, then heated it
red-hot and cut it with tools I found in the box."
"All right, Verny! You shall take the prize this time," Julie commended
heartily.
"But that doesn't give us a roof or rafters," said Ruth.
"I have them all ready for you. I remembered them to-day when I
inspected your work," said Mrs. Vernon, leading the way down to the
buckboard.
"Help me lift the seats off," ordered the Captain.
This was done, and the curious girls then saw Mrs. Vernon pry out some
small wooden wedges and lo! a board came from the floor of the
buckboard. But stay! It was not _from_ the floor, but one of the extra
boards that had been laid down to form a double flooring.
Several boards were thus removed, and then it was found that the
original floor of the buckboard was as good as ever.
"Why did you have another floor laid?" asked Julie.
"Jim suggested that we might need a few boards for see-saws, or some
other fun, so he fitted these down over the real bottom of the
buckboard. I forgot about them until I found your need of just such
boards for your roof."
"They're not very thick or heavy," said Joan, doubtfully.
"You don't want them heavy for a roof. The lighter the better, as long
as they are steady and secure."
The boards were carried up to the new hut, and found to be several
inches too long for the roof.
"That's an error on the right side, if there can be such a 'bull,'" said
Mrs. Vernon. "For now you can have overhanging eaves instead of having
the roof come flush with the sides."
"We haven't half enough of these boards for a roof, if we propose
covering it with tar-paper as we did the old hut," said Julie.
"We only need enough to form bases for us to nail the laths to. You will
find a large bundle of laths in the material Jim sent out by the Freedom
delivery-wagon. The laths are easy to nail down and then the paper goes
over that, you know."
So the roof was finally completed, but it was not as neat and exact as
the work on the old roof, so Mrs. Vernon wondered! The week had gone by
and the next day would be Sunday, but the scouts grumbled at the forced
vacation.
"Dear me! I was sure we would be through building and ready to play by
this time," complained Joan.
"I think you have accomplished wonders this week. I thought it would
take us two weeks, at least, to build this new hut," said Mrs. Vernon.
"If we hadn't had such glorious weather perhaps it might have taken us
that long," said Betty. "But the wood was all dry, and we had no delays
in any way."
"I think the door is the best-looking thing about the whole place," said
Julie, with head on one side, admiring the craftsman's work.
"That commendation makes me yearn to try other ideas," laughed the
Captain.
"Maybe you are thinking of building a cobblestone chimney in our house,"
laughed Julie.
"Why didn't we think of it in time! We could have had one as easy as
anything!" exclaimed Mrs. Vernon.
"Are you joking?" asked the girls.
"No, but now we must see where we could have it. I am afraid we will
have to lean it up in the corner against the stone-wall at the back of
the hut."
The girls laughed at this, for now they were sure Mrs. Vernon was only
fooling them.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SUNDAY VISITORS
Sunday morning was so fine that the scouts declared it was too bad they
couldn't finish the hut, as they felt so full of energy. Mrs. Vernon
laughed, and said: "Bottle it up for Monday."
"But there isn't anything we can do on a day like this," said Ruth,
plaintively.
"Oh, yes, there is. Girl scouts can hike, visit, or do any of the
recreations suitable for Sunday. It does not say that we must sit down
and pull long faces," replied Joan.
"Well, what would you do, Verny?" Ruth asked of the Captain.
"First of all I would eat my breakfast and hasten to clear away all
signs of it from camp."
"Second the motion!" laughed Julie.
"Oh, pshaw! Of course we will do that, but _you_ know what I mean--after
breakfast," Ruth retorted.
"If we want something quiet to do, we might sketch that signboard on a
sheet of paper. I brought heavy paper and pencils. But should we want to
go for a long walk, we can do the designing any time. Then there is our
Scout Handbook to read--I really want you to become familiar with the
rules and customs of the scouts," said the Captain, seriously.
"Suppose we have you read first of all, then go for a walk, and then if
we are tired we can sit down and plan that sign," suggested Julie.
So immediately after the breakfast things were cleared away, the group
sat down beside the waterfall and Mrs. Vernon read.
"On page 9 of the Handbook you will find this important information--it
follows directly after the tenth law of Girl Scouts:
"'Self-Improvement'
"'A Great Law of Life.'
"'One of the most fundamental laws of life is that, in the natural
course of things, the influence of women over men is vastly greater than
that of men over one another.
"'This is what gives to girls and women a peculiar power and
responsibility, for no Girl Scout or other honorable woman--whether young
or old--could use her influence as a woman excepting to strengthen the
characters and to support the honor of the men and boys with whom she
comes in contact.
"'This great law is nothing to make a girl feel proud or superior to
men; but, on the contrary, the understanding of it should make her
humble and watchful to be faithful to her trust.
"'Be prepared, therefore, to do a true woman's full duty to her men by
never allowing the desire for admiration to rule your actions, words, or
thoughts. Our country needs women who are prepared.
"'Prepared for what?
"'To do their duty.'"
Mrs. Vernon paused here and looked at the girls. "I did not read the
full text on that article, because I want you each to buy a Handbook and
study it yourself. I find there are so many fine thoughts expressed in
this book that I doubt whether it is wise of me to read them aloud to
you while your minds are filled with the novelty of camp-life. It may
not have the lasting impression it should."
"What comes next, Verny--anything about what scouts do on Sunday?"
inquired Joan.
The Captain smiled as it was evident that the girls were more concerned
in doing what they were told scouts might do on Sundays, than they were
in hearing about the ideals and aspirations of the scout order.
"I now have to turn back to page four, where it says: 'It is not meant
that Girl Scouts should play or work on Sunday, but that they may take
walks where they can carry on a study of plants and animals.' This is
all it says regarding Sunday occupation. So I suppose the organizers
deemed it wisest to leave it to the discretion of the Captains and
scouts in each individual group," commented Mrs. Vernon.
"If that is all the book declares we have to do, then we are at liberty
to obey the rule and yet have lots of ways of passing the day," said
Joan.
"I should say that reading rules and lessons from the Handbook was
considered work," hinted Ruth.
"Then we won't have any more of that kind of work," laughed the Captain,
closing the book emphatically.
"Good gracious, Ruth! Reading isn't work--particularly if the reading
matter is wholesome as Girl Scout lessons must be. I should as soon say
that listening to the preacher at church is not considered Sunday
business, just because he lectures on certain interesting subjects
connected with the Scriptures," argued Julie.
"Oh, really, you make a 'mountain out of a mole-hill,' Julie, every time
I open my mouth," retorted Ruth, impatiently.
But the Captain interrupted this conversation before it gathered any
added criticism, by saying: "I want to make a note for a bit of work to
be attended to first thing in the morning, and then we will start for a
nice walk.
"I find there are a great many wide crevices between the logs of the
hut, where rain and insects can enter; especially is this so at the back
wall where the timbers rest against the rocky side of the cliff.
"To obviate this discrepancy in building with uneven logs, we can fill
in the chinks with clay. When that hardens it will act like a solid
cement between the logs.
"I prowled about yesterday and found a place down on the bank of the
stream, where the clay was of the kind we need to use. We will bring
some of it up to camp to-morrow, and after mixing it with water and
sand, fill in the cracks in the walls. As it is now, should there be a
heavy rain that would wash the water down over the cliff, the floods
will pour in through the chinks of the log wall that is built against
the rocks and run over the floor of your house."
"We'll attend to that first thing, as you say, Verny; but let's hurry
up, now, and get started for our walk," Joan said.
After they had been walking for an hour or more, trying to name the
various birds they saw, or tell about the peculiarities of woodland
plants they found, Mrs. Vernon thought they had better start back for
camp.
"It is only half an hour to our usual dinner-hour, and it will take us
that long to reach camp. Before we have our Sunday dinner cooked it will
be an hour later than our usual time on week-days."
"At least we will be fashionable, then," laughed Julie. "Every one has
dinner an hour later on Sundays--that's why the men always complain."