now?"

"Yes, sir," said Rob, "I've got it hooked. That's easy so far."

"Well, now it isn't going to be quite so easy. I've known lots of
intelligent men who never could get this thing straight in their heads
at all. Now watch how I pull this doubled rope toward me across the
top of the pack. The long end, on the left, is free, and I tighten
the right-hand leg of the rope. Now, you see I pass the left-hand leg
under the right-hand in another long loop, or bight--this way, see.
Now I can enlarge that loop by pulling some of the free end of the
rope through, can't I? I leave it all loose, because we don't pull
things up until we get the whole hitch thrown and set.

"Now I pull my big loose loop out toward the rear of the pack on my
side. And I just twist the loop over, side for side, until you see it
bind or twist in the middle on top the pack. That's the important
thing. Now I run the right-hand side of my loop on the right-hand
lower corner of my side pack. Then I carry it under the bottom of the
side pack and around the lower corner in front. I just tighten it up a
little, as I do this.

"Now, Rob, it's your turn. You take hold of the free end of the rope
which I have tossed over to you. It runs from the twist on top of the
pack to your left-hand lower corner, and under your side pack and up
to me around your right-hand lower corner.

"Now you might say that your diamond is laid, and that you are ready
to cinch up. The ropes will bind first where they cross on top, and
tighten all the way back to the end of the cinch-hook on the off side.
When everything is made fast, the last end of the rope--which, by the
way, we will have to untie from our horse's neck--comes over, finishes
the diamond hitch, and is made fast at my cinch-ring on the near side.
We begin at the cinch-hook and finish at the cinch-ring, on the other
side.

"Now then, we begin to cinch. I begin when you call 'cinch!' That
means that you have put your foot into old Billy and pulled the first
leg of the rope up right in the cinch-hook. I gather up your slack and
I tighten it all the way around the corners of my pack and back over
the top. It is now up to you to cinch again, with your foot in the
pack, as I did here just a little. That tightens all the slack clear
to your corners. Now when your rope comes back to me for the last
tightening I haul it hard as I can and tie off at my cinch-ring. I use
a knot which I can jerk loose easily if I want to ti