The camp was not
far away, and consisted of a cosy little "A" tent, a hammock hung between two
young chestnuts, and a fire-place made of a circle of stones on the ground,
with a crane hanging above it. The crane was quite an elaborate contrivance,
for which Joseph the gardener was to be thanked.
The long branch on which the pot hung was pivoted, if you know what that is,
on an upright post fastened firmly in the ground, and in such a way that you
could "higher it," as Tattine said, or lower it, or swing it clear of the fire
on either side. At the end of the branch away from the fire hung a chain, with
a few blocks tied into it, for a weight, so that you lifted the weight with
one hand when you wished to change the position of the branch with the other,
and then let it rest on the ground again at the spot where you wanted the pole
to stay. You see, the great advantage of this was that, when you wished to see
how things were going on inside of the kettle, or to stop its boiling
instantly--you could just swing it away from the fire in no time, and not run
the risk of burning face or hands, or petticoats, if you belong to the
petticoat family.`
"Now," panted Tattine, for it was her turn to be breathless with running,
"I'll break the sugar if you two will make the fire, but Rudolph's to light it
and he's the only one who is to lean over it and put the wood on when it's
needed.
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