“And the girls will see too, Olga. You know how quick they are. You could not deceive them if you tried—Lena, Sadie, Louise Johnson—they will all be watching you—weighing you; and if they see that, in spite of the hard things, you are really and truly happy—that you have really found the ‘joy in service so deep that self is forgotten’—don’t you see how much stronger your influence over them will be—how immensely stronger?”
Slowly, thoughtfully, Olga nodded, her eyes on the glowing embers in the fireplace.
“So all these things that are making your life now so hard, are your great opportunity, dear,” the low voice went on. “If in spite of all, you can hold high the torch of love and happiness, every girl in our Camp Fire will gladly follow her Torch Bearer.”
Olga looked up, and now her eyes were shining. “You are the real Torch Bearer, Miss Laura!” she cried. “You have shown me the light to-night when I didn’t think there was any.”
“I’ve shown you how to keep your torch burning—that is all. Now you must hold it high to light the way for others; for you know, dear, there are others in our Camp Fire who are stumbling in dark and stony pathways, and we—you and I—must help them too, to find the lighted way.”
“O, I’ll try, Miss Laura, I will,” Olga promised, and in her voice now there was determination as well as humility.