"For to-day, we will have it _below_ the pool in which we wish to bathe. Then the brook can carry away the dish-water without having it seep into the ground and find its way to mingle with the pool."
The pail of water was hung upon the cross-pole, and fire was laid and lit in the fire-pit. The girls watched very closely as the Captain slowly placed the dry leaves, then the dried twigs, and lastly the dry wood that would burn quickly and start other wood burning in the stove.
While the water was heating, Mrs. Vernon showed the girls how to hitch and unhitch Hepsy. If either one needed to do it, she would understand just where all the pieces of harness fitted in. Hepsy was now given a drink and some oats, and turned out to graze about the plateau.
With five pairs of hands, the clearing away of the dishes did not take long. As they worked, the Captain planned the carpentry work.
"Don't you think we ought to repair the old hut first?" asked she. "You see, we need some sort of protection for our dry groceries and other things."
"Well, we can do that to-day, and begin on Hepsy's shed in the morning," suggested Julie.
"I doubt if we can complete all the work to be done on the old place in this afternoon's few hours," returned Mrs. Vernon.
"It doesn't look as if it would take more than two hours at most," argued Joan.
"We'll begin now and then you can find out for yourselves," the Captain said in reply.
All the tools they had brought were now unpacked and placed ready for use. Mrs. Vernon then said: "Now we must weed up all the stubble and wild-growth that has filled the interior of the hut. We may find the floor beams good enough to use again when the undergrowth is cleared away."
"Why not let's build the roof first?" asked Ruth.
"Because you have no flooring down, and every nail or tool you drop while working on the roof will have to be sought for in the rank growth."
The girls saw the logic of that, so they began pulling and working on the material that had to be eliminated before further work could be attended to.
"Why, this is as bad as weeding dandelions," grumbled Ruth.
"Say, Ruth, dandelions were easy in comparison," laughed Joan, standing up to wipe the perspiration from her face.