"We ought to have a name for this camp," observed Snap. "Every really first-class camp has a name."
"This is such a very high-toned camp let us call it Hotel
Millionaire," suggested Giant.
"The Lakehouse," came from Whopper.
"I've got something better than that," said Shep. "Half of these trees are birch trees, and we used birch bark on the roof. What's the matter with calling the place Birch Tree Inn?"
"That's all right!" cried Snap. "Hurrah for Birch Tree Inn!"
"Good enough," assented Whopper. "Let's run up a napkin for a flag, for here is where we feed."
"Not much!" came from Giant. "What's the matter with this?" And from an inner pocket he produced a small silken flag. "I brought this along for our camp."
"Hurrah for the stars and stripes!" came from Snap. "We'll raise the flag by all means."
This was an easy matter, for directly in front of the camp, on the lake front, grew a tall and slender sapling. From this they cut the extreme top and the branches, and then ran up a thin rope, to which they attached the flag. Floating in the breeze it looked very pretty, and taking off their caps, the members of the Gun Club saluted the national emblem. Then Whopper and Shep began to whistle the Star Spangled Banner and the others joined in.
The making ready of the camp had taken longer than they had expected, and it was nightfall before they had everything as they wished it. In addition to making the shelter weather tight and warm, they had cut a good sized pile of wood for the fire. All were tired out, and Shep admitted that his back felt pretty stiff and lame.