the pain of this farewell did not long cloud their faces. tug and jim had had no luncheon, and were growing anxious for something to eat. down at the mouth of the river stood a small cabin, often occupied in early spring by the sportsmen who went for a day's duck-shooting in the great marshes that spread right and left on both sides of the stream. it was buried among big cottonwood and sycamore trees, and was pretty snug. besides, it had a fireplace, into which somebody had stuck a long iron bolt pulled out of some bit of wreckage on the beach, and which served as a great convenience in the rude cooking of the sportsmen.
at this cabin our party proposed to spend the first night. they thought it would be an easy letting down from sleeping in their beds at home to the tenting they feared they might have to do afterwards. katy had been the one to suggest this, and tug had earnestly supported the idea.
"things don't seem so hard when they come upon you gradually, as the kind-hearted man said when he cut off his dog's tail a little piece at a time, so the pup wouldn't mind it."
the sun was just disappearing straight up the river behind them as the cabin came in sight; and before its half-closed door
"'all bloody lay the untrodden snow,'"
as kate exclaimed, misquoting her "hohenlinden" to suit the red glow of the rich evening light.
"hurrah for supper!" screamed jim; and with an extra spurt they swung the boat up to the bank.
a little sweeping with a broom made of an alder branch cleared the cabin of the snow that had blown into the cracks and fallen down the mud-and-stone chimney. this done, aleck called to them to listen to his first orders, which he had written down in a note-book, and now read as follows:
captain's order no. 1.—any order given by the captain must be obeyed by the person to whom it is addressed, unless his reason for not doing so will not keep till camping-time; merely not liking the duty is no excuse.
captain's order no. 2.—the captain will say when and where camp shall be made, and immediately upon stopping to camp the duties of each person shall be taken up as follows: the captain shall secure the boat, get out the tent, and proceed to set it up; tug shall take the axe and get fuel for the fire; kate shall see to the building of the fire and the preparation of food; jim shall help kate, particularly in carrying articles needed, and in getting water; and all, when these special duties are finished, shall report to the captain for further duty.
captain's order no. 3.—any complaints or suggestions must be made in council, which will commence after camp work is completed and supper is over, and not before.
"there," said aleck, "do you agree to that?"
"yes—agreed!" shouted three voices in chorus.
"then pitch in, all of you; you know your work."
at this tug seized the axe, aleck and jim went to the sledge, and katy began to kindle a little blaze on the hearth with some bits of dry wood she found lying about, so that when tug had brought an armful of sticks, a good fire was quickly crackling. then the iron pot, full of water, was hung upon the old spike, where the blaze began curling around its three little black feet in a most loving way.
"jimkin," called the girl to her brother, who was gazing with delight at the bright fire, "jimkin, bring me all those paper packages at the stern of the boat, and be careful of the white one—it's eggs."
"i guess there won't be much tent to set up to-night, aleck," he remarked, as he found the captain, who had hauled the sledge well up on the bank and tied it securely to a tree, now busy in dragging out the sail.
"no," was the reply, "but the canvas'll come handy. tell tug i say he'd better get a big heap of wood together, for we're going to have a cold night. the wind has turned to the north, and is rising."
when he had taken the canvas up to the cabin, he called jim to help him, and they brought in the mess chest, the rolls of bedding, and the piece of spare canvas which had covered the prow. then, telling jim to take the little sled that had been dragged behind the boat, and haul to the door the wood tug had cut among the trees not far away, aleck seized the shovel and began heaping snow against the northern side of the house, where there were many cracks between the lower logs. but his hard work to shut them up in this way seemed to be in vain, for the wind, which was blowing harder and harder every minute, whisked the snow away about as fast as he was able to pile it up. kate, stepping out to see what he was about, came to his rescue with a happy thought.
"i read in dr. kane's book of arctic travels, that when they make houses of snow they throw water on them, which freezes, and holds them firm and tight. couldn't you do that here? it's cold enough to freeze anything."
aleck thought he might, and bidding kate go back to her fireside, he called the other boys to help him; then, while jim stuffed the cracks with snow, aleck and tug alternately brought water from a hole cut in the river ice, and dashed it against the chinking. some of the water splashed through, and a good deal was tossed back in their faces and benumbed their hands, so that it was hard, cold work; but before long a crust had formed over the snow-stuffed cracks, and katy came to the door to say that she couldn't feel a draught anywhere. the roof was pretty good, and when, tired and hungry, but warm with their exercise (except as to their toes and fingers), the three lads went in and shut the door, they found their quarters very snug, and didn't mind how loud the gale howled among the trees outside. rex, especially, seemed to enjoy it, curling down at the corner of the fireplace as though very much at home.
meanwhile katy bustled about, setting out plates, knives, and forks on the top of the mess chest, which she had covered with the clean white paper in which her packages had been wrapped. she had put eight eggs to boil in the kettle, which were now done, and were carefully fished out, while the coffee-pot was bubbling on the coals, and letting fragrant jets of steam escape from under the loosely fitting cover. a cut loaf of bread lay on the table, and beside it a tumbler of currant jelly, "as sure as i am a dutchman"—which was tug's favorite way of putting a truth very strongly indeed, though he wasn't that kind of a man at all. the eagerness to taste this sweetmeat brought out the melancholy fact that by some accident there was only one spoon in the whole kit.
"we'll fix that all right this evening," aleck remarked. "i'll whittle wooden ones out of sycamore."
"shall i broil some mutton-chops, or will you save those for breakfast?"
"broil 'em now," cried jim.
"hold your opinion, youngster, till your elders are heard," was tug's rejoinder. "i vote we save 'em."
"so do i."
"and i."
"done," says captain aleck. "give us the chops for breakfast, miss housekeeper."
"then supper's all ready," she said, and took her seat on a stick of wood, pouring and passing the coffee, while the eggs and the bread and butter went round. by the time the meal was finished it had become dark, but this did not matter, since there was no need to go out of doors.
"how shall i wash the dishes?" asked katy, with a comical grin, as she rose from the table. "i couldn't bring a big pan."
"well," suggested aleck, "you can clean out your kettle, refill it with water—jim, there's business for you!—and then wash them in that."
"that's a matter never bothered me much when i was camping," added tug, dryly. "i just scrubbed the plates with a wisp of grass, and cleaned the knives and forks by jabbing 'em into the ground a few times."
while the dishes were washing aleck opened the tent bundle, and laid the mast across two pegs that somebody had driven into the north wall of the room just under the ceiling beams, perhaps to hang fishing-poles on. then, with tug's aid, he tied to the mast the inner hem of the sail-cloth, which thus hung loosely against the wall, like a big curtain, shutting out every draught.
"that's splendid!" cried katy, watching them from the end of the room where the fire was.
"so is this!" came a voice from overhead, making them all look up in surprise.
it was jim, who, unnoticed by any one, had clambered into the loft, which had been floored over about two thirds of the room, and who was now thrusting his red face down through the open part.
"what do you think i've found?"
"give it up. i knew of a man who died after asking conundrums all his life," answered tug, gravely, "and i've fought shy of 'em since."
"tell us at once, jimkin," called out aleck.
"straw!" shouted jim.
"pshaw!" was the next rejoinder heard.
"no rhymes, katy," aleck admonished. "is it clean, youngster?"
"cleaner than he is, i should say, by his face," said tug, and with some reason, for the loft was dusty.
"don't know; you can see for yourself," and down came a great yellow armful.
it was pounced upon, and, proving dry and fresh, the delighted jim was ordered to send down all he could find, which was laid on the floor, not far from the fire, and covered with the spare canvas. this made a soft sort of mattress, upon which each one could spread his blankets, and sleep with great comfort, since there was plenty for all.
"sha'n't have so good a bed as this another night," groaned aleck.
"can't tell—maybe better!" said the cheerful tug.
the warmest place was set apart for katy, and aleck made a small screen, covered with a newspaper curtain, which separated her from the other three, who were to sleep side by side. these preparations made, the fire was heaped high with fresh wood, and then the little quartet took their ease, lounging on the springy straw before it, and indulging in a quiet talk over the busy day just finished, or what they were likely to meet on the morrow.
aleck said something about being able to travel by compass in case they were caught in a snow-storm, which was what he dreaded the most, when jim asked him to explain the compass to him, leaving katy's side and going over to where his big brother was stretched out at the other corner of the fireplace. the girl, thus deserted, went to the valise in which she kept her small articles, and came back with a book.
