“Yes,” replied Mrs. Bonnell, not wishing him to get too familiar with her pretty charges. “Can we help you raise the tent now?”
“In jest a minute, lady. As soon as I lay out the poles and spread the canvas over ’em.”
“Oh, those poles!” exclaimed Alice. “Wasn’t it stupid of us not to remember that a tent had to have poles?”
They watched the old man take the ridge pole and fit the holes in either end of it, over the pins on the tops of the two end poles. Then he spread the canvas over the ridge pole, bringing the central seam of it along the stick. Next he laid out the two side walls of the tent, with the guy ropes trailing off, the middle one on each side being placed near stakes that had been temporarily driven in the ground. Old Hanson then drove a stake in front and one to the rear of the tent, trailing the ropes from the end poles off toward them.
“Now, ladies,” he said, in rather brisk business-like tones, “if some of you will manage one end pole, I’ll tackle the other. Then two of you mind the pole ropes, one to each, and pull them as tight as you can around the stakes. I’ll tighten ’em more later.”
Mrs. Bonnell, Alice and Marie, stationed themselves at the front pole, while Old Hanson looked after the other. Natalie took the front rope, and Mabel the rear.
“All ready!” called the volunteer helper. “Raise!”
Lifting the end poles raised the top or ridge one, and the tent went with it, hanging down, as Marie said, “like a sheet on a line.”
“Now fasten the end ropes!” called Mr. Rossmore. “Any way so’s they’ll hold.”
Natalie and Mabel did their best, and soon the tent was partly stayed. Then, while the end poles were still held from toppling over sideways, under the direction of Old Hanson they secured the two middle side ropes to the pegs.