ou are privileged to take your choice," replied Addison. "Take the one
you like best."

The girls went peeping into each, to examine them well, and were in
doubt for some moments. In fact, there was not much to choose betwixt
the two.

At length, Kate announced that they would have the one "the old slave"
lived in, himself.

"No doubt he spent many a lonesome hour there," said Theodora. "I should
like to know his history."

"That's what nobody can find out," said Tom. "But I am glad he lived
here and left his hut for us to camp in."

We sat on the grassy sward of the old yard and rested for some minutes,
then began our preparations for supper.

"Now we must all fall to with a will," said Addison. "It is a job to get
things fixed up nice for night."

"Addison, you be captain and tell us each what to do," suggested Kate.
"We will all obey and work like good soldiers;--for we all want some
supper, I guess."

"Well, then," said Addison, "what do you want for your supper?"

"Poached eggs on toast!" cried Ellen.

"I think some of those partridges would go well," said Kate.

"Would it take long to fricassee them?" Addison asked.

"Oh, not very long," said Theodora.

"I can dress them off in ten minutes," said Willis, "if you don't insist
on their being picked and will let me skin them instead; for I can take
their skins off, feathers and all, in just one minute apiece."

"Go ahead," exclaimed Addison; "Tom, get dry wood from that drift-heap
down by the brook and build a nice camp-fire; and Kate, you and Doad
unpack the baskets and get the coffee-pot, tin kettle and frying-pan
ready. While you are doing that, the rest of us can throw out those old
yellow boughs from the bunks, then cut new ones and make the bunks all
up sweet and fresh for night; and after that we will drag up a lot of
wood for our camp-fire, through the evening."

"Shall we not keep a camp-fire burning all night?" Theodora asked.

"Oh, yes! let's not let the fire go out!" cried Ellen. "We're a dreadful
ways from home, up here in the great woods! How many miles have we come,
Ad?"

"About seventeen miles, all told."

"Yes; do let's have a good roaring fire all night," said Kate.

It quite frightened the girls to think how far they were from home, in
the forest, now that the sun began to sink behind the tree tops.

"All right!" laughed Addison. "Gather lots of wood. It will take piles
of it to burn all night."

But Theodora made a disco