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The village as we have sketched it out will occupy a space about fifty feet square. The streets are laid out in curves, to add to the beauty of the village, and also in order that all or nearly all the buildings will face toward the gate. Hence visitors to the village will get a view of the best side of each structure. Right in the foreground, we have placed the village green, with Park Avenue cutting through it, and leading to the Town Hall. The streets should be about four feet wide for a village of this scale. Right in front of the Town Hall, where Main Street and St. Nicholas Boulevard come together, there is a triangle in which will be located the town pump and horse trough and the flagstaff of the village. The little circles shown at the street corners represent lamp-posts; they will also carry mail boxes and fire alarm boxes.

At first we need only to stake out the village streets and the location of the principal building. Later, we shall cut the turf away in the streets and pave them with gravel, but

that does not need to be done at the present time. What we need at the very start is some place in which we can keep our tools and supplies. And the best building for this purpose is a barn. Our plan shows a barn at the rear of the village, and this will make a good location for a temporary building and construction office. It will be well to start with a barn rather than a more difficult structure, because we shall gain experience in building and will be able to turn out a better building when it comes to constructing a cottage.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BARN.

In all this work it will be impossible to give exact dimensions, because boxes do not come in any standard sizes and probably no two clubs will have boxes of exactly the same size. But if a boy has any ingenuity at all he can make his own plans and adapt the instructions here given to fit the particular boxes he has to work with. We shall assume, just for

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illustration, that we have succeeded in getting hold of a box that is 4'-6" long, 3'-0" deep, and 4'-0" high. The mark (') stands for feet and the mark (") for inches. When a dimension is an even number of feet, say four feet, it is customary to put it down as 4'-0". If it were marked 4' it might easily be mistaken for 4′′, or four inches.

The box is placed in the proper location in the lay-out of our village and the first work is to remove the top of the box, carefully saving the boards and the nails. We are going

about 3/4′′ thick, one of them being 2′′ wide for the roller track, and the other 11⁄2" wide for the spacer. The strips should be 4'-6" long, so that they will reach clear across the face of the barn, and they should be nailed together so that the roller track projects half an inch above the spacer.

Our barn door is to cover a little more than half of the width of the box. It should therefore be about 2'-6" wide and 4'-0" high. Remove the boards from the front side of the box to make a doorway 2'-3" wide, and use

Fig.2.

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FIG. 2, THE BARN; FIG. 3, REAR OF BARN DOOR; FIG. 4, SECTION OF BARN DOOR SHOWING HOW THE DOOR IS HUNG; FIG. 5, BARN DOOR HANDLE

to have a sliding door on our barn, which means that we must have a track for the rollers of the door to run on. This track will have to be spaced away from the barn wall, and so a spacer-bar will have to be used, as shown in Figure 4. Take two strips of wood

these boards to make the barn door, piecing it out with boards from some other source. To hold the boards together two cleats or strips of wood about 3" wide should be nailed fast to them, as shown in Fig. 3. For the rollers that slide on the track rail two stout

Fig. 4.

Roof

Rafter

Roller

Roller track

-Spacer

Fig. 6.

Fig. 7.

-6-1

rafters come together they are temporarily fastened with a single nail, not driven in all the way because it is to be removed later. The distance from the peak to the horizontal strip will depend upon the width of the box. There

Width of Box
Soy 3'-0"

spools may be used, and in order to hold them firmly in place they should be mounted on round-headed screws, firmly threaded into the barn door above the upper cleat. Nails will do if screws are not to be had, but in either case there should be a washer under the head of the screw or nail and another washer between the spool and the barn door so that the spool will turn freely. There should be fully two inches of space between the spools and the cleat, so that the roller track will fit between them nicely. The roller track and spacer are nailed to the front of the barn wall just under the eaves and of course they extend clear across the doorway. The barn door is fitted upon the roller track by sliding it on from one end. The upper cleat of the door comes up against the bottom of the roller track and prevents the barn door from being lifted off the track. At the bottom, the barn door is kept in place by means of two guide rails. These are strips of wood about 4′′ wide, which are bedded into the ground, and if necessary nailed to stakes driven in the ground. They are spaced just far enough apart to receive the lower end of the barn door between them.

4'-6"

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FIG. 6, HOW THE BARN ROOF IS MADE; FIGS. 9 AND 10, CONSTRUCTION OF THE WEATHERVANE; FIG. 11, HOW THE WINDOWS ARE CUT OUT

As a handle for the door all we need is a piece of wood an inch square, and five or six inches long, with a couple of blocks of wood under each end to space it away from the door. This is shown in Figure 5.

BUILDING THE ROOF.

After having finished our door we can proceed with the roof of the barn. First we must make a couple of gables. Take three strips of wood, which may be anywhere from 22 to 4 inches wide, and nail them together in a triangle, as shown in Figure 6. The two inclined pieces are rafters and they should overhang the horizontal piece, as shown, so as to form eaves. At the peak where the two

is no set rule for the slope of the roof, but in general we should recommend that the height of the gable should be a little more than half the width. If our box is, say, 3 feet wide, the height of the gable should be about I foot 9 inches. Care should be taken to have the two legs of the table of exactly the same length. This can be determined by measuring from the peak down each rafter to the horizontal piece. We can go ahead now and fill in the gable wall by nailing on horizontal pieces of wood, as shown in Figure 7. After two strips have been nailed fast to the lower part of the gable, so that the rafters will be held firmly in position, the nail at the peak of the frame is pulled out and then a saw-cut is made through the two overlapping pieces, so that they can be brought together in the same plane, as shown in Figure 7. This done, the

rest of the gable wall may be nailed fast. Any pieces of wood can be used for this purpose, and if they project beyond the rafters the projecting parts can be sawed off later on. After one gable frame has been completed another one may be made of exactly the same size and shape by laying the pieces on the first gable frame. If we have plenty of boards long enough to reach across the box with a little to spare for eaves, we can get along with two gable frames, but if long boards are not to be had we shall have to use a frame at the middle of the roof as well. As shown in Figure 8, this frame does not need to be completely boarded up. A board across the bottom and one at the top will keep it in shape. As the roof boards are going to meet on the middle frame, it will be well to make the rafters of the middle frame of thick strips of wood. After the three frames have been completed, they are set up on edge as shown in Fig. 8, and the roof boards are nailed to them.

The boards ought to overhang at least 6 inches at each end to form eaves.

When the entire roof is completed it may be lifted up bodily and placed on top of the barn. The rafters will space the roof a few inches from the top of the barn wall. This space might be filled in, but it is better to leave it open, as it will furnish ventilation.

CUTTING OUT WINDOWS.

At each end of the barn we shall want a window, and the simplest way of making this is to take two pieces of wood, about 2 inches wide, and nail them to the side of the barn, just above and below the place where we wish to cut the window opening. (See Fig. 11). The window ought to be about a foot square, which means that the strips of wood above and below should be 14 inches long, so as to extend at least an inch beyond the opening at each side.

grain cuts with the saw and then split out the wood between them.

THE WEATHER-VANE

We need only one more detail to complete our barn, and that is a weather-vane. The construction of the weather-vane is shown in Figures 9 and 10. Take a strip of wood an inch square and 12 inches long, cut two saw slots in it, a short one at one end for the head, and a long one at the other for the tail of the vane. The head and tail may be cut out of cardboard. They should be slipped into the slots in the wooden body of the vane, and held in place by means of brads or small nails. Then the vane should be treated to a coat of shellac, applied with particular care to the cardboard, so as to make it stiff and weatherproof. This done the weather-vane should be balanced carefully on the finger so as to find its center of weight. Through this center a hole is bored to receive the nail on which the weather-vane is to turn. A broom handle or a shade roller may be used as the staff on which the weather-vane is mounted.

Before the staff is set up we must place the compass arms upon it. Drill two holes through the staff at right angles to each other and one above the other. Through these holes light sticks of wood are inserted. The sticks could be nailed to the side of the staff, if desired, instead of passing through it. The ends of the sticks have saw slots cut into them to receive the letters E. S. W. and N, which may be cut out of cardboard. After they have been nailed fast they are also treated with a coat of shellac. The weather-vane may now be set up on the barn, with the staff nailed to the inside of one of the gable walls. This means that a notch must be cut in the peak of the roof, as shown in Figure 10, so as to let the staff through. Care must be taken to have the compass arms point in the right direction before the staff is made fast. This can be done roughly by noting the direction of a shadow at noon time and taking this for the direction North. Of course this will not be perfectly accurate, but it will be near enough for our purposes. If there is a member of your club who can draw a rooster, or some farm animal, you can get him to cut it out of a piece of cardboard and nail it fast to the top of the vane, coating it well with shellac to preserve it from rain. This will give the barn a very lifelike touch. (To be continued)

In order to be sure of having the opening square with the wall of the barn, it will be best to draw it out in pencil before nailing on the strips. In each corner of the penciled square bore a hole about an inch in diameter, as shown in Figure 11, then with a key-hole saw, cut from one hole to the other, and the window will be completed. If no key-hole saw is to be had the boards will have to be ripped off and sawed along the penciled lines. Make the horizontal or cross

"VIVE LA FRANCE!"

A Narrative founded on the Diary of Jeannette de Martigny

By EMILIE BENSON KNIPE and ALDEN ARTHUR KNIPE Authors of "The Lucky Sixpence," "Beatrice of Denewood," "Peg o' the Ring," etc.

CHAPTER XXXII

THE SANDAL OF ST. JEANNE

FOR a time my brain was rather in a whirl as I sat alone in the little room. My experience with this officer, whose name and rank I did not know, puzzled me exceedingly. Until the matter of the sandal had been touched upon, he had seemed quite calm and indifferent. Then, suddenly, he had changed into an eager, impatient man with an almost passionate interest in the relic. The only reasonable explanation that I could discover was that he must be as keenly desirous of saving Monsieur Guyot as I, and saw in the recovery of the little slipper the proof needed to verify our story.

But it was not at all clear to me, and as the minutes slipped by I became increasingly anxious. Suppose that, in spite of Léon's certainty, the bag of the German prince should have disappeared from its hiding-place. It was only too easy to imagine ways in which this might have happened, and by the time the half-hour had passed I was in a fever of doubt and suspense. For the next ten minutes I paced the room, too much upset to think connectedly. And then I heard an automobile stop outside the house.

I held myself rigid, scarcely breathing, filled with dread of the outcome.

A moment later the door was burst open, and the officer entered in a great state of excite

ment.

"It is a treasure, Mademoiselle, a veritable treasure!" he cried, hurrying to his desk and placing upon it my box of scented wood that had always held the sandal. With trembling fingers he fumbled till he had it open. My dear relic was within and in nowise hurt.

Forgetting my instructions not to speak, I turned to Monsieur Guyot and held out my hand to him.

"Oh, thank you, for bringing it back to me!" I said, with all the gratitude I could put into the words.

"It is nothing, Mademoiselle," he answered. "It is going to send me to Paris instead of to face a firing-squad. It is I who owe you thanks."

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The officer, bending over the relic, seemed quite oblivious of us, and the soldier at the door stood with his rifle like a statue-a rather bored statue, I should say, from the expression of his face.

"But you risked your life to bring it back to me, Monsieur!" I insisted. "What made you do that?"

"Ah, Mademoiselle," he returned, with a gesture of indifference, "this risking my life has become as my daily bread to me. It was risked every moment I was with the German army. Let us not exaggerate the matter of the sandal. It is more than a pleasure to me that I have been of service to you."

The officer had heard something of what Léon was saying, and with a quick glance at us, gave his head a shake of impatience.

"You cannot exaggerate the matter of the sandal!" he exclaimed. "It is precious beyond price. Whether or not it was worn by Jeanne d'Arc, I cannot say; but it is fifteenthcentury work and might have been worn by the Maid. That is beyond dispute. Have you any documents relating to its history, Mademoiselle?"

"Yes, Monsieur, there are proofs that have been in the family for many generations," I answered.

"Good!" he cried, bending over his desk again.

"Then Monsieur Guyot will be permitted to go to Paris to prove that he is a loyal Frenchman?" I asked.

Instantly there came a change in the officer's manner and, pushing the box away with a hint of reluctance, he turned an impassive face to

me.

"I have decided to leave the matter to the Paris Bureau for adjustment," he said. "You may remove the prisoner," he ordered the poilu.

"But, Monsieur-" I began, only to stop as he raised his hand for silence.

"I shall be back soon, Mademoiselle. Do not worry," Léon assured me as the guard led him away. Once more I was alone with the strange officer.

"Now that the matter upon which you came is ended, Mademoiselle," he suggested politely,

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