They also built a boat large enough for five, which they hid among the bushes at the lake's edge.

They were thus provided with a possible means of escape across the water in case of the last emergency.
Jim and Paul, who, as usual, filled the role of housekeepers, took great delight in fitting up this forest home, which the fittingly called "The Alcove." The floor of solid stone was almost smooth, and with the aid of other heavy stones they broke off all projections, until one could walk over it in the dark in perfect comfort.

They hung the walls with skins of deer which they killed in the adjacent woods, and these walls furnished many nooks and crannies for the storing of necessities.

They also, with much hard effort, brought many loads of firewood, which Long Jim was to use for his cooking.

He built his little fireplace of stones so near the mouth of "The Alcove" that the smoke would pass out and be lost in the thick forest all about.