"it's like this," said robin, as he hung over the side of the boat, "at first i thought we couldn't do anything, but we can. it's stupid to suggest that we should come and nurse dick, because we'd be sure to catch it, and give miles more trouble. even if we don't nurse him, there'll be the chance of infection. so—suppose we stay here!"
"my dear boy," began mrs. vaughan, "but——"
"don't 'but,' mother; do listen. we were to have a camp, weren't we? well, let's begin at once. i suppose dick and his spots are now in the bedroom leading out of peter's and mine, so it's jolly likely——"
"yes," mrs. vaughan nodded her head. "i put him there before i had realised——. then, as he had infected the place, i thought he'd better stay. i meant to move him to one of the unoccupied rooms, but so far i haven't managed it, and——"
"well then, think of my idea. if we move into the house we'll be in quarantine when term begins. no one—not even school—could say we've been near infection if we stay here. there's brown's house, too, if——"
mrs. vaughan's face was beginning to clear: "you'd promise not to sleep out if it were wet? i'm sure brownie would arrange for jan, and anything you might want. well, robin—i'm not so sure that your plan isn't a good one after all. and, if it does work, it will be a decided help to me."
"hurray!" shouted robin. "hurray!" shouted the other two. this was robin's plan, was it? they thought; well, it was a jolly good one. peter waved an oar in the air.
"listen though," said their mother anxiously, "for if i am going to allow it, i have any amount to say first."
but in half an hour every single thing was arranged. jan, despatched to fetch brownie, appeared in due course with the old woman, who seemed as "adaptable as a jolly old glove," as peter said, hugging her. she was delighted to provide the campers with food and anything that they might need, and was overjoyed that there was a possibility of "miss jan" staying at the cottage. "and in bad weather, the young gentlemen too! yes, ma'am, to be sure," said brownie. "but—" her voice sounded a little fearful and dubious as she spoke—"there's only the attic, ma'am, with the sloping roof; they wouldn't be fr——"
"of course not." mrs. vaughan's voice sounded almost impatient; she broke off hastily, and brownie said no more. "really, robin," declared his mother, with a change of tone, "i don't know what i should do without you. it seems a very good plan. now, if only the weather——"
"wind's in the right quarter," said peter, with sparkling eyes.
"and—you'll blow your horn every day after breakfast, mother," begged jan, "and come and talk to us, won't you? we won't come to the house at all, but we'll send letters by brown."
"very well, good-bye till to-morrow." mrs. vaughan turned, looking greatly relieved.
"good luck to dick; and take care of yourself, mother," shouted the three as she disappeared, waving her hand at the bend of the path.
"and now, what are we to do?" inquired peter of his older brother.
"i'll jolly well show you that, old chap," said robin. "we've got to pitch a camp, and that pretty quickly too, for arrangements have taken time. it's fortunate that we decided on the site; but we've got to make our sleeping-place, you know."
"better sleep to-night in the large attic, master robin, perhaps," suggested brownie, but she looked relieved at the boys' emphatic refusal of her offer. the attic wanted clearing out; no one had slept there since the browns took possession, and it was a veritable ark of lumber. "and i've miss jan's room to get ready," thought the old woman.
jan herself was only too eager to help the boys in their preparations; a camper she intended to be from morn till eve; only for the nights would she condescend to the shelter of a roof. guide as she was, too, her services proved invaluable; with the boys she collected fuel for the fire as to the manner born; dry bark and chips were collected for kindling purposes, and larger pieces of dead wood for the blaze later on. the sun was not strong enough at that time in the afternoon for the fire to be lighted by the help of the burning-glass that robin always carried, but a single match sufficed in his practised hands; then, when the flame was safely spluttering, he left the fire to the tender mercies of his sister, and the two boys turned their attention to the preparation of a sleeping-place.
"it's miles too late to get through with a real hut," said robin. "we're likely to be on this island for a while, and we might spend some of our time in building a real good one. what do you say to working up for our pioneer badge while we're here, peter? good idea, don't you think?"
peter nodded; he was rather unusually silent, and was evidently thinking something out.
"for to-night we'd better see about a temporary shelter"—robin was busily engaged in pulling armfuls of bracken as he spoke; "there's a likely tree-trunk over there, and we might lay one of our staves against that fork that comes some way up the trunk. we'll need a jolly lot of bracken to thatch it across, so you and jan had better both come along here and pull some. it'll be better than sleeping in the attic to spend the night under the stars."
peter nodded again; then he spoke. "about that attic, robin," he said, "didn't you twig from the way brownie spoke, that there is something mysterious about the place?"
