Allison, chilled with amazement, filled with a sudden strange pity, looked around with growing horror to see whether it was really true that he had been called upon to speak in meeting. Then with the old nonchalance that nothing ever quite daunted he rose to his feet.
“Why, I,” he began, looking around with a frank smile, “I never was in a Christian Endeavor meeting before in my life, and I don’t know the first thing about it. My sister and I only came to-night because somebody wanted us to; so I can’t very well tell about any other society. But I belong to a college frat, and I suppose it’s a good deal the same thing in the long run. I’ve been reading that pledge up there on the wall. I suppose that’s your line. You’ve got good dope all right. If you live up to that, you’re going some.
“I remember when I first went to college the fellows began to rush me. I had bids from two or three different frats, and they had me going so hard I got bewildered. I didn’t know which I wanted to join. Then 162 one day one of the older fellows got hold of me, and he saw how it was with me; and he said: ‘You want to look around and analyze things. Just you look the fellows over, and see how they size up in the different frats. Then you see what they stand for, and how they live up to it; and lastly you look up their alumni.’ So I began to size things up, and I found that one frat was all for the social doings, dances, and dinners, and always having a good time; and another was pretty wild, had the name of always getting in bad with the faculty, and had the lowest marks in college; three fellows had been expelled the year before for drunkenness and disorderliness. Then another one was known as ranking highest in scholarship and having the most athletes in it. I looked over their alumni, too, for they used to come around a good bit and get in with us boys; and you could see just which were making good out in the world, and which were just in life for what they could get out of it; and I made my decision one day just because of one big man who had been out of college for ten years; but he had made good in the world, and was known all over as being a successful man and a wonderful man, and he used to come back to every game and everything that went on at the college, and sit around and talk with the fellows, and encourage them; and, if anybody was falling down on his job, he would show him where he was wrong and how to get into line again, and even help him financially if he got in a tight place. And so I thought with men like that back of it that frat was a pretty good thing to tie up to, and I joined it, and found it was even better than I expected.
“And I was thinking as I looked at the blackboard, 163 and heard you talking about the Great Companion, it was something like that man. If all that’s true that you’ve been reading and saying to-night, why, you’ve got pretty good things back of you. With an Alumnus like that”––nodding toward the blackboard––“and a line of talk like that pledge, you sure ought to have a drag with the world. All you’ve got to do is to make everybody believe that it is really so, and you’d have this room full; for, believe me, that’s the kind of dope everybody wants, especially young people, whether they own it or not.”
Allison sat down abruptly, suddenly realizing that he had just made a religious speech and had the interest of the meeting in his hands. His speech seemed to set loose something in the heart of the young leader; for he rose eagerly, alertly, his embarrassment departed, and began to speak:
“I’m glad our friend has spoken that way. I guess it’s all true what he has just said. We’ve got the right dope; only we aren’t using it. I guess it looks mighty like to the world as if we didn’t really believe it all, the way we live; but believe me, I’m going to try to make things different in my life this week, and see if I can’t make at least one person believe we have something here they want before next Sunday.”
He seemed about to give out another hymn, but the plain girl spoke up and interrupted him. She was sitting forward in her chair, an almost radiant look upon her face that quite changed it; and she spoke rapidly, breathlessly, like a shy person who had a great message to convey. She was looking straight at Allison as if she had forgotten everyone else in the room.
“I’ve got to speak,” she said earnestly. “It isn’t 164 right to keep still when I’ve had such a wonderful experience, and you spoke as if it might not all be true about Christ’s being our companion every day.” In spite of himself Allison met her eyes as though they were talking alone together, and waited for what she should tell.
“I’ve always been just a quiet Christian,” she went on; “and I don’t often speak here except to recite a Bible verse. I’m sort of a stranger myself. But you all ought to know what Christ has done for me. When my people died and everything in my life was changed, and troubles came very thick and fast, there wasn’t anybody in the world I could turn to for every-day help and companionship but Jesus; and one day it came to me how my mother used to feel about Him, and I just went to Him, and asked Him to be my companion, as He used to be hers. I didn’t half believe He would when I asked Him; but I was so hurt and alone I had to do something; and I found out it was all true! He helped me in so many little every-day ways, you wouldn’t believe it, perhaps, unless you could have lived it out yourself. I guess you really have to live it out to know it, after all. But I found that I could go to Him just as if I could see Him, and I was so surprised the first day when He answered a prayer in a perfectly wonderful way. It all came over me, ‘Why, He loves me!’ And at first I thought it was just happening; but I tried it again and again, and every day wonderful things began to come into my life, and it got to be that I could talk with Him and feel His answer in my heart. If it were not for Him, I couldn’t stand life sometimes. And I’m sure He’ll talk with any one that way who wants Him enough to try and find Him,” 165 she finished; and then, suddenly conscious of herself, she sat back, white and shy again, with trembling lips.
The meeting closed then; but, while they were singing the last hymn Allison and Leslie were watching the face of the quiet girl with the holy, uplifted light on it.