Sugar and syrup making always interested Nell, and she begged to be allowed to go out to the camp.
"All right, I'll take you," said Rodney, who was going. "But you must promise to behave yourself."
"As if I didn't always do that," answered the young miss, with a pretty pout.
"And you mustn't eat all the sugar, either," said Dave, with a smile.
"No, for I want to bring some home for the twins," returned Nell. "Oh, but they just love maple sugar—and so do I," she added.
The party was soon on its way, and by the middle of the afternoon the camp was established. Then the trees were tapped and the little funnels inserted, and the kettles placed beneath. The sap ran quite freely and Rodney calculated that they would get all the sugar and syrup they expected to, and perhaps a little more.
In those days syrup and sugar making was carried on in a primitive way. There was no costly apparatus—the outfit consisting principally of a pair of big copper kettles and several pans and ladles. Rodney was a good hand at making sugar and he attended to that part of it for the Morris family, while Dave attended to tapping the trees and bringing in the sap, and also to the needed firewood for boiling.
A rough shelter had been erected in the sugar camp and all slept in this at night, the women and children on one side and the men on the other. Because of the Indian attacks one man remained on guard each night, everybody taking his turn at this duty.
For several days the sugar making went along without interruption. All in the camp were happy, and little Nell enjoyed herself to the utmost. There was another little girl in the camp with her, and the two were company for each other.
On Saturday of the week Dave and Rodney agreed to give up sugar making for the day and do a little hunting. They had seen some game at a distance and both were anxious to bring down whatever came in sight. Nell was left in charge of some friends, and off they started directly after an early breakfast.