Immediately after breakfast, Dick set about making his camera trap.
“First thing we must do,” he announced, “is to make this lean-to so that there is only one entrance. That’s because I can focus the camera to cover only so much ground. Best way to do is to lay two or three more saplings crosswise between the two brush shacks, and weave some branches on them.”
All three set to work and made the lean-to inaccessible on one side. This was done by laying four saplings across the opening and fastening them to the uprights that held the lean-tos. On these were hung quantities of branches, which were then twisted in and out of each other much as one would weave a basket. This is the usual way to make a brush house in the woods, and so constructed, they are easy to make and all right for good weather. Of course a heavy rain will soon penetrate, and so they are not generally used for permanent camps. Still, when they are properly prepared, and thickly woven, these houses will keep out an ordinary summer shower.
“There, how’s that for a job?” asked Garry.
“Pretty good, except for one thing. We’ll need some more branches so as to make that wall extra thick, because it is in that that I am going to mask the camera,” answered Dick, who was superintending the job since it was his idea.
This was soon done, and then they stepped back and surveyed their handiwork.
“Now what’s the next step?” queried Phil.
“Next thing to do is to dig a shallow trench two feet square and six to eight inches deep. Only way I see to do that without a shovel is to use our hatchets as pickaxes, and then scrape away the dirt with our hands.”
“What’s the idea of the trench?” asked Garry.
“You ought to be able to see that without asking questions. That’s what I’ll use to lay some sort of a platform on that will cause the lever of the camera to snap. Thing that stumps me just now is how to make that platform. Before we cross that bridge, however, let’s get that trench fixed. On second thought, it need be only about three inches deep. I am beginning to see light.”