Roger, meanwhile, had been sorting out the wood he needed for a chair of another pattern.

“I wish Dorothy would heave in sight,” he growled as he piled some half inch thick strips in one heap.  “She told me she’d tell me all she knew about chair legs when I reached this stage of proceedings.”

“She will,” answered a cheerful voice, and gray-eyed Dorothy appeared from the house.  “I felt in my bones that you’d be beginning this lot this afternoon, so I ambled over to see if I could help in any way.”

“Keep right on ambling till you reach this end of the platform and tell me whether you said that chair legs could be made of this stripping or whether I’ll have to get solid pieces, square-ended, you know, joist or scantling or whatever it’s called.”

“Strips will do, only you’ll have to use two for each leg.  Nail them together at right angles.  It will make a two-sided leg, but it will be plenty strong enough, though perhaps not truly handsome.”

“If handsomeness means solidity—­no.  Still, they’ll do.  Can you give me the lengths for these strips?” and Roger waved his saw at his cousin as if he were so impatient to begin that he could not wait to study out the lengths for himself.

“For the one I made for the attic,” replied his cousin, “I cut four strips each two inches wide and twenty-one inches long for the front legs and four strips each two inches wide and twenty-five inches long for the back legs.  Then there were two two-inch strips seventeen inches long to go under the seat to strengthen it front and back, and two two-inch strips each thirteen inches long to go under the seat and strengthen it on the sides.  That’s all the stock you need except the box.”

“I suppose you’ve got a particular box in mind to fit those sizes.”

“Those sizes fit the box, rather.  Yes, I got a grocery box that was about eighteen inches long and thirteen wide and eleven deep.  I saw one here just like it before I gave you those measurements, so you can go ahead sawing while I pull off one side of the box—­the cover has gone already but we don’t need it.”

Quiet reigned for a few minutes while they all worked briskly.

“Now I’m ready to put this superb article together,” announced Roger.  “How high from the ground does the seat go?”

“Nail your cleats across with their top edges fifteen inches from the ground and nail the bottom of the box on to the cleats.  See how these two-sided legs protect the edges of the box as well as make it decent looking?”

“So they do,” admitted Roger.  “They aren’t so bad after all.”

“I think those sides are going to be too high,” decided Dorothy after examining the chair carefully and sitting down in it.  “Don’t you think it pushes your elbows up too high?”

Roger tried it and thought it did.

“Suppose you saw those sides down about five inches.”

Roger obeyed and Dorothy tried the chair again and pronounced it much improved.