“I can’t find the Firefly!” wailed Alice. “Are you sure you got that name on, Captain?”
“Well, that must be it, Alice,” said Marjorie; “for here’s the Will-o’-the-Wisp, and that’s the only one left.”
“True enough!” admitted the other. “And here’s the name as plain as anything. I couldn’t see it for looking at it.”
“Did any of you girls get a chance to practice what I told you last week?” asked Miss Phillips. “I suppose you did, Marjorie?”
“No, I didn’t!” The girl flushed slightly, and glanced questioningly at Ruth in the hopes that she might explain the reason. But Ruth said nothing; she had no intention of coming to Marjorie’s rescue. “It rained so much—and I had my uniform to finish, besides.”
“Marj doesn’t need practice!” said Ruth. “She’ll get the cup anyway, without trying.”
“Your uniform looks lovely!” said Miss Phillips. “In fact, they all do. I think you girls are all to be congratulated.”
All this time the captain had been distributing the folded tents, the cooking utensils, and the food supplies into five piles, so that the heterogeneous mass had already vanished to half its size.
“But all those things will never go in one canoe!” cried Alice. “Remember, we’ve got our raincoats and blankets, and the clothes we brought.”
“Now I believe I’m ready,” announced the captain, after a few minutes’ more work, and when the big pile had completely disappeared. “I am going to pack our canoe and let you all watch. Then you may all set to work at yours, and after they are finished, I will inspect them to make sure they are all right.”