"But that'll be a white flag, Russ, and soldiers don't ever have a white flag lessen they give up and surrender. We didn't surrender, 'cause we haven't even got our fort built. We don't want a white flag."
"Oh, well, I didn't mean to have a white flag. That's just the start. We'll take a white handkerchief for a flag and we can make it red and blue."
"How?" Laddie certainly was asking questions.
"Well, Cousin Tom has some red and blue pencils. I saw 'em on his desk the other night. He marks his papers with 'em. You go and ask Cousin Ruth if we can't take a red and a blue pencil and then I'll show you how to make a red, white and blue flag out of a handkerchief."
"You won't make the fort till I come back, will you?"
"No, I'll only start it. Now you go and get the pencils."
Laddie ran back to the bungalow and Cousin Ruth let him have what he wanted. He promised not to lose the pencils, and soon he was helping Russ mark red stripes and blue stars on Laddie's white handkerchief. They did make something that looked like our flag, and then, finding a long piece of driftwood to use as a flag-pole they planted it on top of the hill.
Making a fort in the damp sand at the seashore is very easy. It is even easier than making one of snow, for you don't have to wait for the snow to fall and often after it has snowed the flakes are so cold and dry that they will not pack and hold together. But you can always find damp sand at the seashore. Even though it is dry on top if you dig down a little way you will find it moist. Now, on account of the rain, the sand was wet all over and was just fine for making forts.
Russ and Laddie had some toy shovels their mother had bought for them. The shovels had long handles and were larger than the kind children usually play with at the shore, so the boys could dig faster with them.