“You see,” she explained, “an awful lot depends upon the beds. They are our chief decoration, you might say,” as she proceeded to make each bed very pretty indeed, with a diamond-shaped blanket in gay colors throwing its brilliancy clear up to the brown canvas ceiling.
Bits of waste paper seemed to come from nowhere and settle everywhere, and these kept the Scouts busy, for this was to be a model camp and fit for inspection “always.”
“Now we’ll all go home and take a bathtub bath,” suggested Miss Mackin, “and be back promptly at two-thirty for the flag-raising.”
If anyone doubts girls’ ability to make life ideal in the open, such a one has surely a limited experience with life’s loveliest creatures, for girls are naturally “little animals,” and who-ever tried to teach a bunny how to dig its burrow?
At two o’clock Benny rounded up the Boy Scouts, and when these came together they formed quite a company, in which were five fifes, three were tin horns, several drums, a few being homemade and of recent production, besides mouth-organs and other varieties of noise-making instruments. Benny himself, being brother to Grace, was chosen color-bearer, and he started his company off for Tamarack Hills with many compliments following in the wake of the trusty, valiant Boy Scouts.
Friends and relations of the girls had gathered also, and it was a distinguished line of autos that parked down at the foot of the hill when the girls themselves, hiking now and disdaining car-rides, marched along to take formal possession of Camp Comalong.
The inspection came first and everyone took part in it Mothers were enthusiastic and even craved “camps like this” for the whole family. Those fathers who could do so also attended the opening, and manlike talked proudly of their girls being the real thing in the Scout line.
The boys “drummed and fifed” madly, and of course drew a crowd.
“After this one afternoon,” said Corene to Cleo’s mother, “we are going to be strictly Girl Scouts, and we will only have visitors on regular days.”
Miss Mackin was conducting one of the visiting school-teachers all over the grounds, for the fame of this girl-made camp had spread beyond its limits. Then the signal was given, and Grace pulled the rope that raised Old Glory over Tamarack Hills!