Rollo's sled was ready at the back door, when Lucy came. Lucy brought with her some provisions for a luncheon, in a basket. This was her part of the preparation. Rollo got his axe, and one or two boards a little longer than the sled, which he said were to make seats. He also had a tinder-box, and some matches, to enable him to make a fire. When all things were ready, the three children set out together.
Rollo drew the sled, with the boards, the basket, and some other things upon it, all bound together securely with a cord. The load appeared to be considerable in bulk, but it was not heavy, and Rollo drew it along very easily. They were not obliged to confine themselves to the roads and paths, for the snow was hard in every direction, and they could go over the fields wherever they pleased. In one place, where the snow was very deep on the side of a hill, they went right over the top of a stone wall.
It was a cloudy day, but calm. This was favorable. The sky being overcast, kept the sun from thawing the snow; but yet their father told them that probably it would begin to grow soft before they came home, and, if so, they would have to come home in a certain sled road, which Jonas had made that winter by hauling wood. He advised them not to encamp at any great distance from the sled road.
They came at last to a pleasant spot on the margin of a wood, near where there was a spring. The rocks around the spring were all covered with snow, and the little stream, which in summer flowed from the spring, was frozen and buried up entirely out of sight. But the spring itself was open, which Rollo said was very fortunate, as they might want some water to drink.
Here they encamped. Rollo cut some stakes, which he drove down into the snow, and contrived to make a rude sort of table with his boards. He also cut a large number of hemlock branches, which Lucy and Nathan dragged out and spread around the table for them to sit upon. Then Rollo built a fire of sticks, which he gathered in the wood. The ground was covered with snow, so that it would have been very difficult for him to have found any sticks, were it not that some kinds of trees, in the woods, have a great many small branches near the bottom, which are dead and dry. These Rollo cut off, and Lucy and Nathan dragged them out, and put them on the fire when he had kindled it. The fire was a little way from the table, with the carpet of hemlock boughs between.
There was a high hill covered with snow at a little distance, and, after they had eaten their luncheon, Rollo said,—
"O Lucy, we will play go up the mountains. There is a hill for us. That shall be Chimborazo."
"Well," said Lucy, "if you will cut us some long staves."
Accordingly Rollo went into the wood, and selected some tall and slender young trees, about an inch in diameter, and cut two for Lucy, two for Nathan, and two for himself. These he trimmed up smoothly, and each of the children took one in each hand. They played that Rollo was the guide, and Lucy was the philosopher. Nathan was the philosopher's servant. Rollo conducted them safely to the summit; but just after they got there, it began to snow.
The snow descended in large flakes, and Rollo was delighted to see it; but Lucy seemed a little anxious. She said that, if there should be much snow, it would make it hard for Nathan to get home, and she thought that they had better go down the mountain immediately, and set out for home. Rollo was rather unwilling to go, but he allowed himself to be persuaded, and so they all came down the mountain together.