a long, aching time of hunger when the food was in sight, but one could
not eat until Daddy Dan had done this, and Munner had done that. Also,
when one did eat, half the taste was taken from things by the necessity
of various complicated evolutions of knife and fork. Instance the
absurdity of taking the fork under the thumb with the forefinger
pressing along the back of the wobbly instrument, when any one could see
that the proper, natural way of using a fork was to grasp it daggerwise
and drive it firmly through that skidding piece of meat. Not only this,
but a cup must be held in one hand, and bread must be broken into little
pieces before putting butter on it. Above all, no matter how terribly
hard one tried, there was sure to be a mistake, and then: "Now, Joan,
don't do that. This is the way--"

But how different everything was in this delightful house of Daddy Dan!

In an incredibly short time three torches flared about them and filled
the air with scents of freshness and the outdoors-scents that went
tingling up the nose and filled one with immense possibilities of
eating. At the very same time, a few motions caused a heap of wood
to catch fire and blaze among the stones while a steady stream of
blue-white smoke wavered up toward the top of the cave and disappeared
in the shadows. After this her father showed her a little stream of
water which must come from a spring far back in the cave, and the
current slipped noiselessly along one wall, and dipped of sight again
before it reached the entrance to the place. Here she discovered a
little bowl, made out of small stones nicely fitted together, and
allowing the water to pour over one edge and out at another with a
delicious purling--such crystal clear water that one actually wanted to
wash in it even if it was cold, and even if one had the many sore places
on fingers and nose and behind the ears.

Behold! no sooner did one turn from the washing of hands and face than
the table was miraculously spread upon the surface of a flat rock, with
other stones nearby to serve as chairs; and on the table steamed "pone,"
warmed over; coffee with milk in it--coffee, which was so strictly
banned at home!--potatoes sliced to transparent thinness and fried to
crisp brown at the edges, and a great slab of meat that fairly shouted
to the appetite.

So far so good, but the realization was a thousand fold better than
anticipation. No cutting of one's own meat at this enchanted board