“Didn’t you ever see anything like that before?” asked one superior damsel, going on inside.
“Chile, dat means it’s goin’ to cleah up,” replied Evelyn in her best dialect.
Within it seemed like bedlam for a while till a whistle blew and one of the older girls took charge as leader of songs and cheers, and one of the councillors who sat on the floor among the girls tuned up her “light guitar”. There was a piano, but it was not used at this first Camp Fire. In the big fireplace the wood fire glowed and cracked, drying a long line of shoes which stood before it, filling the Assembly Hall with comfort and good cheer, and reminding some of the campers from the hot cities that they were up in Maine.
“A few things to be remembered, girls,” said the head councillor. “The first bell in the morning will be for the dip, at seven o’clock, but there will be none tomorrow morning, not until the next Friday morning. At five minutes of eight the bell rings for setting up exercises. Come promptly, down by the dining-room. Breakfast is at eight. Right after breakfast you go back to your klondikes to get them in order for inspection. You receive a certain number of points for neat order and a banner goes every week to the most orderly klondike.
“The plans for the games and the teams will be announced. We are going to have all kinds of good times. You all have a special place to fit in and will be on a team. There will be a hare and hounds chase soon, a Mystery Hunt that I can not tell you about or it would not be a mystery, tournaments and a swimming meet and a picnic down at the boys’ island. Until the canoe tests no one is allowed to go out in a canoe. And only in groups of three or more may you go into the pine grove. We never have had prowlers, but take no chances. No girl ever goes off the grounds, and your councillor should always know where you are.”
“About the candy, please?”
“When any candy is received in camp, the girl is called to the office, opens the box herself, is given half a pound and the rest goes into the general supply. Occasionally a dish of candy will be on each table at the dining-room. And by the way, Lilian North has the first box of candy. Go and get it for her, Frances. Come, Lilian, it came before you arrived. You may open it and pass it around now if you like.”
It was quite evident that the box was a surprise to Lilian, but she rose to the occasion, opened the big box on the table in the little room at the end of the assembly hall, slipped the card it contained into her sweater pocket, and amid applause and cries of “What’s the matter with Lilian North?” or “Speech, speech!” passed the box around, first throwing little handfuls of bonbons into the laps and upstretched hands of the smaller children.
“My, your father is good to you!” exclaimed June innocently, as Lilian sat down by her chums again. Hilary looked mischievous and Cathalina pretended to lean against Betty for support. Lilian’s cheeks were rosy with blushes, but she carried it off well and kept her hand on the card in her pocket till she should have a good chance to look at it privately.
“Everybody in on this yell!” announced the cheer leader: