"Right away?" clamoured a few of the girls.
"Hardly; I thought we would clear up the tents, do the chores, and try the use of the hatchet and knife; when it gets near time for noon-day meal we can prepare some fish for dinner. Hereafter, I think it wise to have dinner at twelve and supper at six. That gives us a long afternoon and a pleasant evening."
"We're ready for anything—where shall we tramp to-day to use the hatchet and knife?" said Hilda.
"We'll not tramp—we'll stay right here and build a cupboard to hold our edibles as they should be kept."
"A cupboard! What Humph!" and other exclamations showed the surprise the Guide's words gave.
"Are we to chop down a few trees and lop off branches to secure the necessary lumber for the closet?" asked Nita, wondering if the idea would prove irksome or unpleasant.
"Not at all! I may decide to make lumbermen of you before the season ends but I'll not undertake it while you all feel so disinclined to do anything except what your idle fancy suggests. It will take a better understanding of the Law before you start on timber work."
The Guide spoke in a joking way but her words were aimed at Nita's habit of laziness and shirking duties.
"I wonder what Daddy would say if he could see us sawing wood and hammering nails?" said Zan, chuckling.