“You will need about eight feet of tent-rope for each pole, and a loop of rope should be sewed at the bottom of the tent below each hole to hold down the sides.
“When the tent is completed it should be raised between two straight tree trunks about five or six feet high, or two poles about the same height. A pole about six feet long will answer for the ridge-pole. When these are up, drive some pegs slant-ways into the ground about three feet away from each side of the tent, to fasten the ropes to, and then drive more pegs slant-ways for the loops of rope to slip over and hold firm.
“Now you will have a neat little tent ready for camping, but two important things still remain to be done—can anyone tell me what they are?” asked Miss Miller, as she concluded reading the directions she had written down on a paper.
The girls thought earnestly for a time, but no one seemed to grasp the need of anything else. Finally the Guide said:
“What would happen in case of a heavy rain-storm?”
“Oh, we must dig a trench about the outside for rain!” cried Zan, suddenly realising this important factor in camping.
“Yes, and a floor must be laid to keep us dry from the damp ground!” added Jane.
“I had in mind the gutter for rainwater, but the floor is an important detail, too. I have a second item that is as important as either of the others, though,” continued Miss Miller.
“Miss Miller,” now said Elizabeth Remington, who was visiting the Tribe that afternoon, “If you select a spot high and dry on top of a knoll or hill where the sides carry water down away from your tent, you will not need to trench the circle to draw off rain from the ground where your tent stands. It is a natural water-shed.”
“Ah, I see Elizabeth is a more experienced camper than I am, and I admit that she is better informed than I in this case,” said the Guide, bowing.