Shivering and shaking, Veve wondered if the dawn ever would come. Not a sound could be heard from the tent where the other girls apparently were sleeping snugly.
When the sun finally broke through the willows, Miss Gordon, arising to start the fire, was surprised to discover Veve huddled by the dead ashes.
“Why, Veve, you look half frozen!” she exclaimed. “Didn’t you sleep comfortably last night?”
“Oh, I decided to get up early,” Veve replied quickly. “I’ll start breakfast right away.”
However, she continued to hunch by the dead embers of the fire, waiting until Miss Gordon had started a lively blaze. Gradually, she began to thaw out.
“We seem to be rather short of wood,” the Brownie troop leader remarked. “I’m afraid you’ll have to gather more in order to keep the fire going.”
“I’ll tell Eileen and Jane,” Veve said. “They should be up now to help me.”
Soon all the girls began to arise and dress. The sun climbed higher, drying the tent and warming the air.
“While breakfast is being prepared the rest of us may as well have a dip in the river,” Miss Gordon suggested. “Last one in is a sissy!”
Clad in bathing suits, the Brownies all dashed off to the beach, leaving Eileen, Veve and Jane to struggle with the fire.