ild the fire and get supper ready, while he and
Snap erected the tent and cut some pine boughs for bedding.

"It will be almost warm enough to-night to sleep out of doors,"
said the doctor's son. "But it seems more natural to sleep under
some kind of a cover."

He and Snap took the ax and soon cut down three slender saplings and
trimmed them. Two were planted in the ground where the tent was to
be erected and the third was laid across the top, in little
limb-crotches left for that purpose. Then the canvas was thrown
over and pegged down tightly, sides and back. The front of the tent
had a double flap, which could be tied shut with strings if desired.

Long before the tent was up and furnished with bedding of pine
boughs, Giant and Whopper had the camp fire started, and soon an
appetizing odor of coffee and frying fish filled the air. It was
now quite dark, and the glare of the fire made the scene a pleasant
one.

"Camping wouldn't be camping without a fire," observed Snap, as,
having finished his share of the work, he sat down on a grassy
hillock to rest and watch Giant and Whopper getting ready to serve
the evening meal.

"Right you are, Snap," answered Shep. "Even in the hottest of
weather I love to see the glare and the flickering shadows."

"I always think of good stories and plenty to eat when I see a camp
fire," came from Giant.

"Well, I reckon we are going to have the eating, even if we don't
have the stories," said the doctor's son.

"What's the matter with Whopper spinning one of his outrageous yarns?"
suggested Snap. "He must be fairly aching to tell something
marvelous."

"I tell only truthful tales," came from the storyteller modestly. "Now,
if you want to hear-----"

"Truthful tales!" burst out Giant. "Say, Whopper, that's the very
biggest whopper you ever told!"

"All right, then, I won't tell any stories," returned the other lad
reproachfully.

"Oh, yes, you will; you can't help it," said Snap.

Supper was soon served. It consisted of bread and butter and coffee
and pickerel done to a turn, topped off with some crullers from a
bagful donated by Mrs. Caslette. The boys took their time eating,
and when they had finished the bones of the fish were picked clean.
Then Giant said something about a train falling off a bridge, and
that started Whopper to telling a most marvelous story of an
engineer who, seeing that a bridge was down, put on all speed
and rushed his train over a gap