e, and we set to work
immediately on its construction. We made our hut much smaller, however,
only 12 feet in diameter, and 8 or 9 feet high. First we procured two
dozen light poles between 10 and 12 feet long. These we set up about 18
inches apart in a circle like a stockade, the sticks being buried in the
ground to a depth of 12 inches. At one side a space of 3 feet was
allowed for a doorway. Inside the stockade we erected a working platform
of planks supported on barrels, and standing on this we took two
opposite poles, bent them inward and lashed their upper ends together.
Then a second pair of opposite poles were similarly bent inward and
tied, and so we proceeded until the entire stockade had been converted
into a dome-shaped cage. Around these poles we laid lighter sticks, or
bands, tying them at the points of intersection. At the doorway two
posts were set firmly in the ground, projecting upward to a height of 4
feet. A lintel nailed across the top of the posts completed the door
frame. Sticks were nailed to the lintel and to the side posts, extending
to the main frame of the hut, to which they were tied. We were now ready
to thatch our hut. Reddy and Dutchy went over to Lumberville for several
bales of straw. We tied the straw in bunches and applied it to the
frame, copying, as best we could, the process illustrated in the
photograph.

But for its location the hut would have proved a very serviceable
habitation. In order to have a good, dry dwelling without laying down a
board flooring, we had selected for its site the sandy shore at Point
Lookout. This part of the island was not sheltered with trees, and the
hot sun beat down on our hut so strongly that we found the quarters very
uncomfortable indeed. It was this fact that led to the construction of a
tree hut--a building that would be perfectly dry and yet shaded and
cool. Bill had read of such houses in the Philippines and felt confident
that we could build one. We couldn't decide at first where to locate our
hut until Dutchy moved that we build it in the gnarled oak tree
overlooking the "Goblins' Dancing Platform." Immediately the motion was
seconded and unanimously carried.

THE GOBLINS' DANCING PLATFORM.

Just above the town of Lumberville there was a cliff which rose sheer
200 feet above the level of the river. So perpendicular was the cliff
that a stone dropped from the overhanging ledge at the top would fall
straight down to the railroad track bel