“Everybody in on this yell!” announced the cheer leader:
“One, two, three, four! Three, two, one, four! _Who_ for? _What_ for? What y’ going to yell for?— Merrymeeting!”
I see that this little book is going to be full before the summer is over. It is just as well that Father gave me this pretty diary with the key, for some of the things I shall write will be very private and special. I do not believe, though, that I shall write out my thoughts much. I did that once, and they seem so silly afterwards, when you have gotten older. However, I’m nearly grown up now.
Last night there was a gorgeous rainbow and this morning when we started down to breakfast every little spider had its cobweb out, (tune of “ev’ry little wave had its white cap on, white cap, night cap, white cap on”), and that means a nice day. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the sun shone out and showed how perfectly lovely it is up here. I’m wild about the scenery. One of the councillors said that the bay looked like “liquid sapphire”, which was very good indeed, for it reflected the blue of the sky. I’ll try “liquid sapphire” in a “pome” sometime. Merrymeeting Bay is on our right, to the west of our point, and is where five rivers meet. It certainly does look funny to see the current, or apparently the current, going the wrong way between our point and that of the mainland opposite on into the bay. I thought at first this morning that the way I had considered down stream must be up stream and that I had been turned around as to directions. But I soon found that this was only the tide coming in! We are six or seven miles from Bath and almost fourteen from the sea, I believe. There is the dearest island just inside the bay. Somebody lives there, for we see a house and boat.
The girls call the gymnastic exercise that we have just before going in to breakfast the “upsetting exercises”. It is fun, for the athletic director gives us some exercises different from any I ever had before. My voice lessons have made me able to do the deep breathing performances easily. I didn’t take much gym last year in school, had too much else to do, or thought I had.
At breakfast there were some announcements, about how many points one makes in the different things, for orderly klondike, for being quiet in rest hour, and after the last bell rings at night. I couldn’t begin to remember it all. But I can find out gradually, I think. Then we get points for hikes and the games, and for bringing in the wild flowers and identifying new birds. I’m going to see how many I can make. Each year there is a silver cup given to the best all around camper among the seniors, among the juniors and among the intermediates, and on your head-band you can have the cutest things for what you have done. Frances had so many on the one she got last year. Everybody has M. C., for Merrymeeting Camp, and two cunnin’ little pine trees on each side of those letters. Frances has a tennis racquet, a volley ball, a baseball, a paddle, a shoe (for hiking), and the dearest little musical notes. I think I can get the notes, and I’m pretty good at tennis, though I’ve never played the other games. Old Hilary will shine in basketball. How I’d love to get the Merrymeeting ring or a pin, but not very many get those, I guess. You can not buy them, just win them.