Page:Hugh Pendexter--The young timber-cruisers.djvu/104

 “Watch and learn, my son,” advised Bub. He then placed a long pole between the crotches of two convenient saplings at a distance of about three feet from the face of the rock. “This is the front of the leanto,” he explained, rapidly laying the poles from this support to the ground.

“But you can’t see anything,” protested Stanley, deciding the structure to be very impractical.

“I’m building this to sleep in,” reminded Bub. “There you are; ten feet from opening to the back, ten feet wide and eight feet high. Now when we build a fire against the rock the heat will be reflected onto us as we sleep, and we’ll be snug as bears in a holler tree. Now cut some more poles as the ground is rough and Abner always wants it poled up even, with the slant towards the fire. While you’re doing that I’ll fix the roof.”

Catching the idea Stanley soon secured a second bundle of poles and without being instructed skillfully arranged them in the leanto.

“Good work,” applauded Bub. “You can do things all right once you’ve been shown. Now watch me lay these spruce boughs, tips down. It’s wonderful how few boughs will make a leanto waterproof. Pine boughs are