them were to come as many of the Sandwiches as were able.

“It’s no use talking,” said Hinpoha a little later to the group. “We Winnebagos weren’t meant to be separated. Just as soon as we settle down to the idea of spending the summer away from each other along comes fate and throws us all into the same basket again. It happened last summer and the summer before last. And today, while we were in the midst of our lament, in steps fate, just as usual.”

“Just as usual,” echoed the other Winnebagos.

15CHAPTER II
ELLEN’S ISLE

sang the Captain in a quavering baritone, as he stirred the hominy cooking in a kettle swung over a wood fire in the “kitchen” on Ellen’s Isle.

“Oh, I say, look out, you’re getting ashes into it,” called Katherine warningly, looking up from her little “toast fire” nearby, where she was crisping slices of bread held on the end of a forked stick.

Katherine and the Captain were cooks that morning and had the job of getting breakfast while the rest took an early dip in the lake. It was the first week in July. Three days ago Ellen’s Isle was an uninhabited wilderness and the only sound which broke the stillness of its dark woods was the rushing of the wind in the pine trees, or the lapping of the water on the little beach. Moreover, it bore the plebian name of Murphy’s Island, after the president of the ill-fated Mineral Spring Water Company. Then one day had changed everything. A procession of boats had set out from St. Pierre, the little town on the mainland, which was the nearest 16 stop of the big lake steamer, headed straight for Murphy’s Island and unloaded its cargo and crew on the beach, who formally took possession of the island by setting up a flag in the sand right then and there.

The invading fleet was composed of two launches, one very large and one smaller; five rowboats fastened together and towed by the one launch, and five canoes towed by the other. The crew comprised two men and two women, six merry-eyed girls and six jolly boys. The explorers had evidently come to stay. They immediately set about raising tents and nailing down floor boards, clearing spaces for fires and setting up pot hangers, repairing the landing pier and setting up a springboard, and in a hundred other ways making themselves at home. Two tents were set up at each end of the island; these were the sleeping tents, one pair for the men and boys and the other for the women and girls. These were completely hidden from each other by the thick trees in between, but the dwellers in one settlement could make those in the other hear by shouting.

Besides these tents another larger one was set up in a little open space; this was the kitchen and dining room for bad weather use. In fair weather the campers always ate outdoors. They cooked over open fires as much as possible, because driftwood was plentiful, but there were two gasoline stoves and two alcohol heaters in the kitchen tent. The outdoor 17 kitchen was just outside the indoor kitchen, and consisted of a bare spot of ground encircled by trees. The “big cook stove” was two logs about ten feet long, laid parallel to each other about a foot apart. The space between the logs was for the “frying fire,” and the ease with which a whole row of pans balanced themselves and cooked their contents to a turn in record time gave proof of its practicability. Besides the “big range,” there were various arrangements for hanging a single kettle over a small fire, a roasting spit with fan attachment to keep it turning constantly, and a reflecting oven. And over it all the high pines rustled and shed their fragrance, and the sunlight filtered through in spots, and the breeze blew the smoke round in playful little wreaths, while the birds warbled their approval of the sensible folks who knew enough to live outdoors in summer.

It was all too beautiful to express in words, and much too beautiful to belong to a place called Murphy’s Island, so the campers decided before the first night was over.

“It reminds me of Scotland,” remarked Mr. Evans, “the scenery is so wild and rugged.”

“Then let’s rename it Ellen’s Isle, after the one in ‘The Lady of the Lake,’” said Gladys promptly. “It’s our island and we can change the name if we want to. How important it makes you feel to own so much scenery to do what you like with!”

18“Ellen’s Isle” seemed such a suitable name for the beautiful little island that they all wondered how anyone could ever have called it anything else, even for a minute. One side of it curved in a tiny crescent, and there the water was calm and shallow, running up on a smooth, sandy beach. Behind the beach the land rose in a steep bluff for about fifty feet and stood high out of the water, its grim, rocky sides giving it the look of a mediæval castle. A steep path wound up the hillside, crossed in many places by the roots of trees growing along the slope, which were both a help in gaining a foothold and a fruitful source of mishap if you happened to be in too much of a hurry.

On three sides of the island the waves dashed high against the rocky cliffs, filling the sleepers in the tents with pleasant terrors at night. The island being so high it afforded a fine view of the country round. On the one side rose the heavily wooded slopes of the mainland, with the spires and roofs of St. Pierre in the distance. A mile or so to the left of St. Pierre a lighthouse stood out in the water, gleaming white against the dark land behind it. It was only visible by day, however, for it was no longer used as a beacon. The changing of the channel and the building of the breakwater in the harbor of St. Pierre had made it necessary to have the light there and the old one was abandoned. It now stood silent and lonely, gradually falling into decay under 19 the buffeting of wind and waves. Looking south from the island the eye was greeted only by a wide waste of waters; the seemingly endless waters of Lake Huron. This was the place where the Winnebagos and the Sandwiches, with Mr. and Mrs. Evans and Uncle Teddy and Aunt Clara, had come to spend the summer.

Katherine finished making the toast, and stacking it up in a tempting pile she set the plate in the hot ashes to keep warm while she turned her attention to mixing the corn fritter batter.

“Want me to help fry?” offered the Captain obligingly. “It’ll take you a year to do enough for sixteen people.”

“Indeed, and I’m not thinking of frying the batter,” replied Katherine, breaking the corner off a piece of toast and sampling it. “There are four frying pans; that’s one to every four persons; they can each fry their own with neatness and dispatch. I belong to the Society for the Prevention of Leaving It All to the Cook! Blow the horn there, that’s part of the Second Cook’s job.”

“What’s the matter with the family this morning?” she asked when the first blast had echoed itself away without any other reply. “They don’t seem to be in any great hurry for breakfast.” The Captain blew several more long, lusty blasts, which were answered by shouts from different directions of the compass.

20“Now they’ll be here in a minute,” said Katherine, turning to look at the lake, which was her chief delight these days. “Oh, look!” she cried. “The gulls are coming already! I believe they heard the horn and know what it means.” The white birds were flying down on the beach in large numbers patiently waiting for the