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Camp-Fire Girls at Twin Lakes or The Quest of a Summer Vacation

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<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2><h3>PLANNING.</h3> Next morning the girls all awoke bright and early, thoroughly refreshed by their night’s rest. A breakfast of bacon, flapjacks and maple syrup, bread and butter and chocolate invigorated them for a new day of camp life in a new place. Their program was already pretty well mapped out, being practically the same as that followed while in camp in Fern Hollow near Fairberry. They still did some work on certain lines arranged under the honor lists of the craft, but were giving particular attention to knitting and sewing for the Red Cross, which they aided in an auxiliary capacity. The program regularly followed by the girls required three hours of routine work each day. This they usually performed between the hours of 7 and 10 or 8 and 11, depending upon the time of their getting up and the speed with which they disposed of the early morning incidentals. On this morning, in spite of the fact that they had gone to bed thoroughly tired as a result of the exertions of the preceding day, the girls arose shortly after 6 o’clock and by 7:30 all were engaged in various record-making occupations, including the washing of the breakfast dishes and the making of the beds and the general tidying-up of the camp. After the routine had been attended to, the girls took a hike for the purpose of exploring the country to the north of their camp. This exploration extended about two miles along the shore, their route being generally the automobile road that skirted the lake at varying distances of from a few rods to a quarter of a mile from the water’s edge, depending upon the configuration of the shore line. During much of this hike, Katherine, Hazel and Miss Ladd walked together and discussed plans for creating a condition of affairs that might be expected to produce results in harmony with the purpose of their mission. They were all at sea at first, but after a short and fruitless discussion of what appeared to be next to nothing, Katherine made a random suggestion which quickly threw a more hopeful light on affairs. “It seems to me that we’ve got to do something that will attract attention,” she said. “We’ll have to do some sensational, or at least lively, stunts so that everybody will know we are here and will want to know who we are.” “That’s the very idea,” Miss Ladd said eagerly. Katherine was a little startled at this reception of her suggestion. When she spoke, she was merely groping for an idea. But Miss Ladd’s approval woke her up to a realization that she had unwittingly hit the nail on the head. “Yes,” she said, picking up the thread of a real idea as she proceeded; “we have got to attract attention. That’s the only way we can get the people in whom we are most interested to show an interest in us.” “What shall we do?” Hazel inquired. “Map out a spectacular program of some sort,” Katherine replied. “We might build a big bonfire, for one thing, on the shore tonight and go through some of our gym exercises, including folk dances.” “Good,” said Hazel. “Let’s start off with that. And tomorrow we can have some games that will make it necessary for us to run all over the country—hare and hounds, for instance.” “We ought to find a good safe swimming place near our camp, too,” Katherine said. “Let’s look for one this afternoon,” Miss Ladd suggested. “How will we test it?” Hazel inquired. “That’s easy,” the Guardian replied. “We’ll use poles to try the depth and then one of us will swim out with one end of a rope attached to her and the other end in the hands of two of the girls ready to haul in if she needs assistance. In that way we will be able to locate a good swimming place and not run any risk of anybody’s being drowned.” “We’ve got a good starter, anyway,” Katherine remarked in a tone of satisfaction. “By the time we’ve taken care of those items something more of the same character ought to occur to us. Yes, that’s the very way to interest the Grahams in our presence and open the way for an acquaintance.” The three now separated and mingled with the other girls who were some distance ahead or behind, and communicated the new plan to all of them. It was received with general approval and was the main topic of conversation until they all returned to the camp for luncheon. <hr class="major" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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