emed good, but the walls were damp, especially
in the rainy season. Then the water would trickle down through the cleft
in spite of all he could do.

He resolved to build, if possible, a little cottage, or, as he called
it, a bower, in the yard in front of his shelter. The hedge of thistles
was growing and formed a fence that an animal could not get through. His
screen of willows on the outside of this would soon hide him from view
from the sea. He had the wall of rock and the hill behind him.

He planned out his way of building it very carefully. "It must be done,"
he said (Robinson formed the habit of talking to himself, so that he
would not forget how to talk), "without hammer, nails, or saw."

He first sought out four posts, as large as he could well handle. There
were always broken trees and branches in the forest. If he searched long
enough he could find posts just suited to his need. He wanted four of
the same thickness and height and with a fork at the end. After long
searching he found what he wanted. He was careful to get those that he
could drag to his shelter.

He placed these in the ground, forming the corners of a square about ten
feet long. In the forks he placed poles running around about eight feet
from the ground. At about every three feet he fastened others, running
in the same way, with heavy cords made of fibre. He found his greatest
trouble with the roof. It must be sloped to shed rain. He had to find
two more forked posts, three or four feet longer than the others. These
he placed opposite each other in the centers of two sides. Upon these he
placed a ridge pole. He then laid other poles lengthwise from ridge pole
to the edge of the frames.

His frame was now done. His plan was now to cover this frame with straw
or grasses tied in bundles. He had seen the barns in the country
thatched in this way by the Dutch farmers in New York State. He gathered
the straw of the wild rice. It was long, straight and tough. It was
easily tied into flat bundles. These he bound securely on to the frame
work with cords. He began at the bottom so that the ends of the row
would lap over the tops of the last one put on.

[Illustration: ROBINSON'S BOWER]

In this way he built a very comfortable and rainproof bower. It was
easy to make a bed of poles covered with straw. A table and bench were
added and shelves of poles.

Robinson felt great joy over this new home. "I will not now be sick any
more," he said. "In c