ome up here on a spying trip beforehand. Each boy took what
he could carry, and in this way the entire equipment was carried down to
a camp site on the shore of the splendid body of water known as Lake
Omega.

"That word Omega means the end, don't it?" said Davy Jones, as they
started to put up one of the two tents, and gather the provisions,
blankets, cooking utensils and such things together.

"I hope it won't be the end of any of us," chuckled Giraffe, who had
been casting furtive looks around, as if searching for an ideal spot on
which he hoped the first camp-fire would be built.

"Well, every fellow who doesn't know how to swim has got to get busy,
and learn the first thing," said the patrol leader, looking toward
Smithy meaningly.

"Oh! I want to know how, Thad, believe me," returned that worthy,
earnestly. "My mother doesn't believe any fellow should go near the
water until he knows how to swim; but how could he ever learn in that
case, I'd like to know?"

"Fix himself up in a tree, and strike out!" suggested Davy, to whom a
tree appealed very frequently as the first way out of any trouble.

"Now, you're away off there, suh," broke in Bob White, smiling; "he
should immediately proceed to get in touch with one of those schools
that teach everything through the mails; and take his dives off the
dining-room table."

It was at least satisfying to see how, under the management of the two
experienced leaders, Thad and Allan, the tents were soon raised. Then
several of the boys were set to work digging around the upper half
outside the canvas.

"What's all this for, Mr. Scout-Master?" asked Smithy, as he laid an old
newspaper on the ground to kneel on, and began digging away with the
hatchet; having actually drawn on a pair of new working gloves made of
canvas, in order to keep his hands from getting soiled.

"Why, in case of a sudden and heavy rain, we'd be in danger of having a
flood rush through the tents if we didn't make this gutter or sluice to
throw it off. Notice that it's on the upper side only. And while you're
finishing here, boys, Allan and myself will make the stone fireplace
where we expect to do pretty much all our cooking. The big camp-fire is
another thing entirely, and we'll let you all have a hand in building
that of logs and brush."

So they constructed a long fireplace of stones easily found along the
shore of the lake; it looked a little like a letter V, in that one end
was wider than