afraid of high winds," confessed Bessie. "Wyn had to
coax to bring her around."

"And of course, Gracie's mother is afraid of fire," chuckled Frank; "and
there you have the three elements. You can plainly see that Gracie knows
very little about fire. She never built one in her life until we formed
our camping club."

"Oh, well," observed Grace, trying to rub the smut off her face with a
handkerchief and the aid of a pocket-mirror, "this is about the end of
the fire season, thank goodness! If we go into camp after school closes,
on Lake Honotonka, there won't be any fires to build."

"Oh, _won't_ there?" cried Bessie. "You just wait. Instead of
taking turns at being fireman for the week, as we do through the winter,
we'll draw lots to see who shall build _all_ the fires. And you
know very well, Gracie, that you always _are_ unlucky."

"Sure she is," agreed Frank. "She always draws the very boobiest of all
booby prizes out of the grab-bag."

"Oh, dear me!" wailed Grace, who was big, and handsome, and not a little
lazy, "I do so hate to work, too. If there had been another set of girls
I liked at Denton Academy, I'd never have joined the Go-Ahead Club."

"Right. Gracie is better fitted for a Fall-Behind Club," observed Wyn.

"But tell us, Wynnie," begged Mina. "Is it really all arranged? Has
everybody agreed that we can go in our canoes to Lake Honotonka?"

"And stay all vacation if we like?" cried Percy.

"That is the understanding," Wyn assured them. "Percy's aunt is the very
kindest lady who ever was----"

"Vote we buy her something nice," interposed Frank.

"That will come in due season," Wyn continued. "But Mrs. Havel went with
me to all our people. She knows all about the place, of course----"

"So does my father," interposed Bessie.

"And he wasn't hard to convince," Wyn responded. "Of course, there are
wild nooks along Honotonka's shores; but at the upper end is Braisely
Park, where all those rich folks live; and there's the village of
Meade's Forge at this end of the lake. We can get supplies, or a doctor,
or send a telephone message, easily enough. And what more does one
want--camping out?"

"We'll have just a lovely time!" sighed Bessie. "I can hardly wait for
school to close."

"A month and a half yet," said Frank Cameron. "And every day will seem
longer than the one that preceded it. But then! when it does come----"

"Just think of living under canvas--and for weeks and weeks! It almost
mak