sted were better
than codfish, to which they later all agreed. Sailors call these fish
"sea-lawyers," because of their wide mouths, as they explain it. They
rowed in to the beach near the mouth of the creek and dressed their fish
on the shore not far from the salmon pool. After this they lay about in
the sunshine of a beautiful day and idled away an hour or two more.

"I'll tell you what, fellows," said John, after a time, as he stopped
throwing pebbles into the pool, "we ought to have some sort of a camp
down here at the mouth of the creek, too. Look over there at that rock
face on the other side of the creek; that would be a fine place to build
another house. I think it would be fun."

"But look at us, all crippled up as we are," said Rob. "We never were in
as bad shape to go to work."

"Oh, well," demurred Jesse, "we wouldn't have to do it all in one day. I
think, too, it would be some fun to build a barabbara all of our own."

"I suppose we could float some logs down the creek," said Rob, "and
maybe pick up some drift-wood on the beach and tow it around with the
dory. And there's some drift right here at the mouth of our creek. We
could build it over there just back of those scrubby trees, and with the
cover of those and the tall grass no one could see it from the water
unless he looked mighty close. And, as John says, it might save us a
walk once in a while."

"If that wasn't a rock wall over there," said Jesse, "we could make a
dugout; but there isn't any cave or opening in the rock there."

"No," said Rob, "and we can't build a bark house like a Chippewa, nor a
mat house like a Siwash, nor a tepee like a Sioux. On the whole, I have
noticed that every country knows how to build its own houses best. The
natives here make barabbaras because they have material for that sort of
house, and they seem to do pretty well, if they do smoke a little."

"Suppose we build a barabbara, then," suggested Jesse.

"Ask Skookie," suggested Rob.

But Skookie, although he knew perfectly well what they were talking
about, did not grow very enthusiastic over the idea. He could see no use
in doing any work which was not absolutely necessary. "S'pose got plenty
barabbara now, all light," he said, pointing up the creek at their
camp. The others, however, overruled him, and when he saw his companions
at work he fell to as enthusiastically as any, and they found his
suggestions of the greatest value.

At first they marked out a pl