[Illustration:  Fig. 35.  The Ski Stick.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 36.  The Swiss Snow Shoe.]

CHAPTER IV.

TENT MAKING.

We had a farewell meeting of the society the evening before Bill and I had to return to boarding-school.  At this meeting plans were made for the Easter vacation.  We also considered the matter of getting parental permission for our summer outing.  So far we had been afraid to breathe a word of our plans outside of the society, since Fred had said something about it in the presence of Father and had been peremptorily ordered to banish all such hair-brained, Wild West notions from his head.  We realized from that incident that the consent of our parents would not be so very easily obtained.  But Bill came forward with a promising suggestion.  He would write to his Uncle Ed and see if he couldn’t be persuaded to join the expedition.  At first we demurred.  We didn’t want a “governor” around all the time.  But Bill assured us that his uncle was “no ordinary man”; that he would not interfere with our plans, but would enter right into them and give us many valuable pointers.  Though not by any means convinced, we told him to go ahead and invite his uncle, as that seemed about the only means of winning over our fathers and mothers.  The society was then adjourned until our Easter vacation began, each member promising to earn and save as much money as he could in the meantime to buy the materials for a tent and provisions for the summer outing.

Word From Uncle Ed.

[Illustration:  Fig. 37.  Breadths sewed together for Roof and Side Walls of Tent.]

Bill’s letter to Uncle Ed was answered as quickly as the mail could travel to Brazil and back.  Uncle Ed heartily approved of our plans, and said that he would be delighted to join the expedition.  He could not be on hand before the 1st of July, but that would give us plenty of time to make all necessary preparations.  He told us not to worry about gaining the consent of our parents.  He would write to them and see them all personally, if necessary to win their approval.

The Canvas Tent.

[Illustration:  Fig. 38 The Sail Stitch. (Hem & Double Seam)]

When at last spring arrived and we returned to Lamington on our Easter vacation, quite a sum of money had been collected, nearly $15.00, if I remember rightly; at any rate plenty to buy the materials for a good-sized tent and leave a large surplus for provisions, etc.  Bill figured out on paper just how much canvas we would need for a tent 7 feet wide by 9-1/2 feet long, which he estimated would be about large enough to hold us.  It took 34 yards, 30 inches wide.  Then we visited the village store to make our purchase.  Canvas we found a little too expensive for us, but a material called drill seemed about right.  It cost ten cents a yard, but since we wanted such a quantity of it the price was reduced to a total of $3.00.  We repaired to the attic to lay out the material.