268 THE IDYL OF THE SPLIT-BAMBOO 



but soon we are about to reveal something that we 

 believe to be really new at any rate very little 

 known about camp-fires; in short we now shall 

 discourse about the " Loot's " rain-defying outside 

 camp-fire, a discovery that he made on our memor- 

 able wet expedition, demonstrating before our very 

 eyes how necessity could be the mother of invention. 

 This phenomenon is that of keeping a fire going 

 right out in the open, and with a good steady rain 

 raining right along! As already affirmed, so far 

 as we are aware the inspiration of genius that created 

 it had its genesis in the cerebrum of Charlie, the 

 popular Lieutenant, as intimated, of our local branch 

 of the State Guard, and one of our Westchester 

 County Supervisors. If he supervises the county 

 affairs that directly concern Yonkers as ably as he 

 can supervise a camp-fire, he should be elected to 

 succeed himself perennially. 



After a fire is once well started under cover it is 

 a simple enough matter to dry out alongside of it 

 firewood for use as needed and if you are not an 

 experienced camper you will be astonished to learn 

 how small a cooking-fire need be to be efficient; it 's 

 that starting it that may be the rub, to say nothing 

 of keeping it going satisfactorily in the open. So 

 to start this Charlie affair a-going, you may have 

 to hunt for some dry tinder from the inside of a dead 

 stump or log. Or the thin outer bark of the white 

 or yellow birches contains a vegetable oil that will 



