“Rule number one—seek beauty!” quoted Natalie.
“She who needs it least,” murmured Alice.
“No compliments—leave them for the boys—if we ever see them again,” warned Marie.
“I’m famished!” declared Mabel. “Can’t we have a cup of tea?”
“I’ll light the oil stove and make it,” volunteered the practical Marie. “But some one ought to look after the cots.”
“We’ll do that—only give us tea!” begged Natalie, and soon five cots, with the accompanying bedclothes, stood neatly arranged about the walls of the larger tent, while all around were the trunks and suit cases, with a more or less indiscriminate collection of garments leading into and out of them.
“Never mind!” consoled Mrs. Bonnell, as she saw the girls’ looks of dismay at the upset condition, “we can take all day to-morrow to straighten out. To-night we must get some supper and rest, and it’s getting late.”
“Oh, for the glorious camp fire!” cried Alice. “We must have a big one in honor of our arrival!”
“Not too large,” remarked the cautious Guardian. “We must remember that we are in the woods, and there isn’t an alarm box on every tree.”
Merrily they sat about the table—some boards over saw horses, the same that the former campers had used.