leep there, too," said Yan.

"Well, why don't ye? That's what I'd do if I was a boy playin' Injun;
I'd go right in an' play."

"_All right now_," drawled Sam (he always drawled in proportion
to his emphasis), "that suits us; now we're a-going sure."

"All right, bhoys," said Raften; "but mind ye the pigs an' cattle's to
be 'tended to every day."

"Is that what ye call lettin' us camp out--come home to work jest the
same?"

"No, no, William," interposed Mrs. Raften; "that's not fair. That's no
way to give them a holiday. Either do it or don't. Surely one of the
men can do the chores for a month."

"Month--I didn't say nothin' about a month."

"Well, why don't you now?"

"Whoi, a month would land us into harvest," and William had the air of
a man at bay, finding them all against him.

"I'll do Yahn's chores for a fortnight if he'll give me that thayer
pictur he drawed of the place," now came in Michel's voice from
the far end of the table--"except Sunday," he added, remembering a
standing engagement, which promised to result in something of vast
importance to him.

"Wall, I'll take care o' them Sundays," said Si Lee.

"Yer all agin me," grumbled William with comical perplexity. "But
bhoys ought to be bhoys. Ye kin go."

"Whoop!" yelled Sam.

"Hooray!" joined in Yan, with even more interest though with less
unrestraint.

"But howld on, I ain't through--"

"I say, Da, we want your gun. We can't go camping without a gun."

"Howld on, now. Give me a chance to finish. Ye can go fur two weeks,
but ye got to _go_; no snakin' home nights to sleep. Ye can't hev
no matches an' no gun. I won't hev a lot o' children foolin' wid a
didn't-know-it-was-loaded, an' shootin' all the birds and squirrels
an' each other, too. Ye kin hev yer bows an' arrows an' ye ain't
likely to do no harrum. Ye kin hev all the mate an' bread an' stuff
ye want, but ye must cook it yerselves, an' if I see any signs of
settin' the Woods afire I'll be down wid the rawhoide an' cut the
very livers out o' ye."

The rest of the morning was devoted to preparation, Mrs. Raften taking
the leading hand.

"Now, who's to be cook?" she asked.

"Sam"--"Yan"--said the boys in the same breath.

"Hm! You seem in one mind about it. Suppose you take it turn and turn
about--Sam first day."

Then followed instructions for making coffee in the morning, boiling
potatoes, frying bacon. Bread and butter enough they were to take with
them--eggs, too.

"