effect.  The rest of the woodwork was covered with denim, and a neat ruffle made by Aunt Dorothy hung about the bottom of the chair.  A thick, round sandwich was now made to cover the seat board.  This was also given a padded effect by binding it with tape.  The seat board was not nailed to the chair, but rested on four cleats nailed to the barrel on the inside.  When the seat was lifted out it uncovered a shallow chest in which various things could be stored.

[Illustration:  Fig. 231.  Tacking on the Straw Sandwiches.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 232.  The Barrel Armchair.]

The Summer Toboggan.

Bill informed me that he and his two chums used to spend hot summer afternoons in this cool place whittling out various ornaments and making furniture for the cave.  In one corner were a number of home-made amusement devices, one of which struck me as rather odd.  It consisted of a pair of large barrel staves, hollow side up and connected with two short boards, as in Fig. 233.  Bill said it was a summer toboggan, to be used on grass instead of snow.  I had never heard of such an affair, and, of course, had to have a demonstration.  Bill went to the top of the hill and from there coasted down the grassy slope in fine style.

[Illustration:  Fig. 233.  The Summer Toboggan.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 234.  Coasting in Summer.]

Tailless Kites.

“There’s a better place over on the other side of the hill,” he said, and led the way to his favorite coasting spot.  But here our attention was diverted from coasting by the curious sight of a full-grown man flying a kite.  We found out afterward that he was a Professor Keeler, who had made a great scientific study of kites.  Professor Keeler was very affable, and we soon got acquainted with him.  His kite was way up in the air, almost out of sight, and was pulling like everything.  Neither Bill nor I could hold it long.  But the most remarkable part of it all to me was the fact that the kite had no tail.  I had heard of tailless kites made like a box, but this one appeared to be very much like the kites I had made in my younger days, and I well knew the importance of a long tail to keep such a kite steady.  We asked the professor about it, and were informed that this kite was of the Malay type, which is so designed that the cloth bellies out into pockets on each side of the central stick or backbone, and these pockets balance the kite while the backbone acts as a rudder.

Finding that we were interested in the subject he gave us full instructions for making kites from 5 to 8 feet long, and these I jotted down for future use.  In a 5-foot kite he said the stick should be 3/8 inch thick and 1/2 inch wide, in a 6-foot kite 7/16 inch thick and 9/16 inch wide, in a 7-foot kite 5/8 inch thick and 3/4 inch wide, and in an 8-foot kite 3/4 inch thick and 1 inch wide.  On the following summer we built a 5-footer and also an 8-footer.