"Oh, I see! And that's a good idea, too. It's just as fair for one as for the other, then."
"Who are going to be the two girls to go ahead? And why can't we all get there at the same time?" asked Dolly.
"One question at a time," said Eleanor, with a laugh. "I'll answer the second one first. We've got to carry all the things we need for making camp and getting a meal cooked. So if we send out two girls ahead, with nothing to carry, they can make much better time than those who have the heavy loads."
"Will they do the same thing?" asked Zara. "The Boy Scouts, I mean?"
Eleanor smiled.
"Ah, I don't know," she said. "They will if Mr. Hastings thinks of it, I'm sure, because it would be a good move in a race."
"Is it quite fair in case they don't happen to think of it?" asked Margery, doubtfully.
"Why not? This isn't just like a foot-race. It isn't altogether a matter of speed and strength, or even of endurance—"
"I should hope not!" declared Dolly. "If it was, what chance would we have against those boys?"
"Suppose we found some new way of rubbing sticks that would make fire quicker than the regular way, it would be fair to use that, wouldn't it, Margery?" asked Bessie.