“We haven’t had a chance to try it on anybody yet,” said Hinpoha, “except Antha. We really and truly didn’t want her here this summer at all until Katherine said she would be an opportunity instead of a nuisance.” Here Nyoda smiled radiantly in Katherine’s direction in the darkness. What a faculty that girl had for seeing possibilities, whether in wooden Indians or spoiled children!
“And so you found out that it was worth while to 248 have her here after all,” said Nyoda, beaming upon them when they had finished. “Well, I should say you had been making very fair headway, indeed. So far only one opportunity has presented itself and you have made the most of that. You’re one hundred per cent efficient on that basis. I’m proud of you.”
How glad they were then that they had “put up” with Antha! Somewhere in the back of each one’s head there lurked the suspicion that Nyoda must have “put up” with them considerably, back in the days when she first became their Guardian.
“I think we ought to set our seal on all our ‘little sisters,’” said Katherine, speaking with her old animation. “Why not make Antha an ‘associate member’ of the Winnebagos? Then we’d never lose interest in her.”
“Good idea,” said Nyoda heartily. “Let’s have a ceremonial meeting right away and make her officially one of us.”
No sooner said than done, and a council fire was kindled on the beach and in the presence of the whole company Antha was made a Winnebago with full ceremony–a thing they never would have dreamed of at the beginning of the summer.
“This is going to be our last week on Ellen’s Isle,” said Sahwah rather dolefully at the breakfast table the next morning. “We want to pack it as full of good times as we can.”
All the Winnebagos and Sandwiches set down 249 their cups with a dismayed bang. While they were perfectly aware of the flight of time they had not begun to think seriously about going home. It seemed incredible, how near at hand the time actually was.
But when Sahwah had finished speaking Mr. Evans raised his voice. “I wasn’t going to tell you until council meeting tonight,” he said in a tone which betrayed a coming surprise. “But the way things have worked out I do not have to be back in the city until after the first week in September, so we can stay one week longer than we had planned.”
He tried to make some further remarks, but they were lost in the cheer that followed his announcement. To the enthusiastic campers that extra week seemed like an endless amount of time.