“One camera only!” laughed Mr. Rogers. “You can settle whose that’ll be between you. Most of our food we’ll get as we go along. But it would be just as well if we got a few things before we start, such as salt and a few soup sticks and some dehydrated vegetables, such as spinach, and maybe some army emergency rations.” “Brr,” said Peanut. “Art and I tried them once. Taste like--well, I’m too polite to tell you.” “Nevertheless, you can put a small can in your pocket and go off for a day without toting a whole kitchen along,” Mr. Rogers answered, “and that’s a help when you are climbing.” “All right,” said Peanut, “but I’d rather chew raisins.” “He’ll eat it just the same, when he gets hungry,” put in Art. “Now, about kits. Can’t we divide up? We oughtn’t to need much stuff for only six.” “I’ve got two kettles, that nest, one inside the other,” said Peanut, “and a small frying-pan.” “I’ve got a good sized fry pan,” said Frank. “And I’ve got a wire broiler, that shuts up and fits into my pocket,” said Mr. Rogers. “And I’ve got a collapsible camp lantern, that you can see to shut it up by,” said Lou. “Then we’ll do with just those things,” Art said. “Of course, everybody’ll bring his own cup and knife and spoon. Oh, and how about maps and compasses, Mr. Rogers? Will we need compasses?” “You bet, we’ll _all_ take compasses. Everybody’s got to have a compass in his pocket before we start.” “Why?” asked Frank. “Can’t you always see where you are going on a mountain? Those pictures of Washington you showed us looked as if the mountain was all bare rock.” “That’s just why we need the compasses,” Mr. Rogers answered. “You can follow a path through woods, no matter how thick a cloud you may be in, but when you get up on the bare ledges of the Presidentials, the path is marked only by little piles of stones, called cairns, every fifty feet or so, and when a cloud comes up you can’t see, often, from one to the next, and if you once get away from the path and started in a wrong direction, you are lost. Many people have been lost on Mount Washington just that way, and either starved or frozen to death. If you have a compass, you can steer a compass line down the mountain till you come to water, and follow the brook out toward the north where there are houses at the base. But if you haven’t a compass, and get to going south, you get into a wilderness, and it would go hard with you. Mount Washington is really a dangerous mountain, even if it is only 6,293 feet high. The storms come quickly and often without warning, and it can get very cold up there, as I told you, even in midsummer. Yes, sir, we’ll all take compasses, and before we tackle the old boy we’ll have some lectures, too, on how to act in case of cloud!” “Don’t we want maps, too?” said Art. “Gee, it sounds more exciting every minute!”