“Probably they did not know just when we would arrive,” suggested Mrs. Bonnell, as she helped Natalie lay out the smaller tent. “It’s just as well—if we can get the tent up alone,” spoke Mabel. “So much the more credit for us. But it does look like one of those Chinese puzzles,” she went on rather hopelessly. By dint of much changing and shifting, trying first one rope then another, turning the pile of canvas first this way and that the girls finally, with the help of Mrs. Bonnell, got it in such a position that, after a sort of council of war they decided that they could erect it. “Now, all together!” called the Guardian of the Camp Fire Girls. “Raise it up, Mabel and Marie, while Natalie and Alice fasten the ropes to the pegs.” The three of them raised, while two excited girls, on either side, took the trailing side ropes and began to catch them around the notched pegs, that had, with much labor, been driven into the earth with stones. “Now let go!” ordered Mrs. Bonnell. The girls stepped back. The tent came down with a dismal flop. “Oh, dear!” sighed Natalie. “Isn’t it a shame! Just when we had it nearly up?” spoke Alice. “Well, we’ll have to do it all over again,” decided the Guardian. “But we have the right idea now.” “I don’t believe Natalie and Alice put the ropes on the pegs quickly enough,” declared Mabel. “Oh, we did so!” chorused the two. “Then why should it come down?” demanded Marie, as if the question was unanswerable. “I don’t know,” declared Natalie. “I know I bruised my knuckles on that one peg. Where is your cold cream, Alice? I left mine in my suit case, and it’s so hard to open.” “This is no time for cold cream—nor ice cream, either!” declared Alice. “Let’s try once more.” “’Twon’t do you a bit of good ladies!” suddenly exclaimed a voice from the lake shore. “You can work ’till doomsday tryin’ t’ git a tent up that way, but lessen you puts th’ ridge pole on top of th’ end poles, an’ raises them fust, you won’t never git no tent up.” They looked whence the voice came and saw an old man, in a clumsy rowboat, regarding them with half-quizzical, half-amused glances. “The poles!” murmured Natalie. “That’s why the tent wouldn’t stay up!” added Marie. “How silly of us!” chorused Alice and Mabel. “Goin’ t’ camp here?” asked the old man. “We—we hoped to,” answered Mrs. Bonnell. “But if we don’t know enough to put up a small tent I don’t see——” “I’ll help you,” volunteered the visitor. “I often help camping parties that don’t know much about the game. I’ll help you.” “We’re Camp Fire Girls!” declared Mabel with dignity. “Ha! Ha!” chuckled the old man. “I have seen folks what could git up a good meal over a camp fire, but they was mighty few. I see you’ve brought an oil stove. That’s what they mostly does up here. There’s some fellows over on Stony Point that have got their camp going in good shape.” “They are our brothers,” said Mabel.