One short hour later, around a friendly little campfire, the plans were made. Everything in the camp and the camp included would be turned over to the city troop (they should all be enrolled as Scouts before taking possession), and for the two weeks before school opened these slum children would come back to Paradise.
“You must realize,” explained Miss Mackin, “this will mean at least the complete sacrifice of your bedding. You may take these blankets, and we will ask headquarters to send us bed covering, but the cots——”
“We will donate them to a mercy camp for next year,” spoke up Julia. “I am sure the home folks will all be perfectly satisfied.”
“And it won’t hurt our lovely flag,” reasoned Louise. “Of course we will turn everything except our personal belongings over to the organization, at any rate.”
“Did you expect to make Comalong a regular summer Scout camp?” asked Miss Mackin.
“Surely,” replied Corene. “We were just experimenting at first, but now we know it will be a real practical camp for any amount of summers.”
“In that case,” proposed Miss Mackin, “we will notify headquarters and have inventory taken at once. Are you perfectly sure you want to give up before the end of the month?”
“Positive,” insisted Louise. “I couldn’t enjoy this a week longer and remember that little wistful, woeful-faced girl, who said she hoped the firemen would be allowed to make a gutter-lake in the city for them to-morrow.”
“Indeed, we couldn’t,” chimed in Corene. “And besides, just think what it will mean to give a real fresh air camp donation?”
“Yes, nothing could be better,” assented the director happily. “And as you all can go to your home cottages it doesn’t seem quite so gigantic a sacrifice.”