“A camp fire is all right,” declared Jack, when he had been appealed to, “and probably you’ll want one every night, to sit about and talk, but for cooking, unless you have to—nix! The smoke gets into your eyes, no matter which side of it you get on, and in rainy weather it’s out of the question. “I know it can be used, and I’ve gotten up a dinner of six courses on an open fire, with two stones for the sides and a sheet of iron for the top, but if you don’t want to spend all your time feeling and smelling like a smoked ham, take an oil stove. It’s not so romantic, but you’ll have time for more real romance with it for you’ll have more time for the woods and water.” And the girls had followed his advice, in which the other boys concurred. Then came the matter of arranging for the camping-site, which they hired from a man who owned considerable property on the shores of the lake—the same man from whom the boys engaged their location. The two camps would be about a quarter of a mile apart, and, as the lake shore curved, and as the boys had a small dock built out on a point of land, they could view the girls’ tents from that vantage-place—or they would be able to when the tents were erected. The task of arranging for tents for the girls, one to cook in and another as sleeping quarters had been rendered more easy from the fact that a party of young people who made a practice of going to the lake did not intend to do so this season. They advertised their outfit for hire, and, on the advice of the boys, Natalie and her chums took it. “We know that camp,” declared Jack. “There’s a good board floor for both tents, and, though you may want a few things, you will find almost everything you need. It’s a rare chance.” “And we’ll help you put up the tents,” added Blake. “We’ll go up the same day you do.” “Thank you, but please let us do all we can for ourselves,” suggested Mabel. “We want to be real Camp Fire Girls, and put up our own tents. It isn’t so hard; is it?” “Not when you get the knack of it.” “Then we’ll read about it in some book. I wonder if the encyclopædia has anything about tents in it,” mused Alice, for, as usual the young people had gathered at Marie’s house. “I can show you in two minutes, better than any book,” declared Phil. “This is how you want to start,” and then, with a napkin, some string and a couple of knives and forks he proceeded to illustrate the not always easy task of setting a wall tent. The girls thought they understood it. Then came other advice about settling the camp, how to arrange the stores, what to buy, how to put up the cots, distribute the blankets, put up the fly, to keep out both sun and rain, and many other details.