"Is it, Nyoda?" asked Migwan.
Nyoda nodded. "That's it. We're going to hike through the woods to Balsam Lake, which is a distance of about twelve miles, camp there for the night, and return to-morrow by another route."
"O Goody!" cried Sahwah, hopping up and down on one foot, "when are we going to start?"
"The first two will start at ten o'clock," said Nyoda.
"The first two!" echoed the girls. "Aren't we all going together?"
Then Nyoda outlined her plan. Believing that the girls would collect more adventures by going in pairs instead of all together, besides the fun of following a trail marked out by leaders, she had arranged the girls two by two. The first pair, who would be the pathfinders and blaze the trail for those coming after, would leave at ten o'clock, the next pair twenty minutes later, then the next, and so on. Their ponchos would be brought in a wagon over the main road and left for them; they would buy their supplies for supper and breakfast at the last village they passed through. Their lunches, they would carry with them. The first two were to buy potatoes and start the fire and put them in, while the rest would bring the other supplies.
"Who and who are going to be partners?" demanded Sahwah.
"Listen, while I read the list," answered Nyoda. "Sahwah and
Nakwisi, Hinpoha and Migwan, Gladys and Chapa, Medmangi and
myself. You will leave camp in the order I have named you.
Sahwah and Nakwisi will be the pathfinders." Sahwah seized
Nakwisi around the waist and the two danced for joy.
"Who'll take care of the camp while we're away?" asked Chapa.
"I have arranged with a man from the village to look after things until we get back," answered Nyoda.