With ready courtesy they took her at her word, and chatted of camp plans and happenings until the talk was interrupted by a clear musical call that floated softly out of the gathering dusk.
“How beautiful! What is it?” Laura asked as all the girls started up.
“It’s the bugle call to the Council,” one explained, “and here comes Miss Anne.”
Laura glanced curiously at her friend’s dress. It was a long loose garment of dark brown, fringed at the bottom and the sleeves. A band of beadwork was fastened over her forehead, and she wore a long necklace of bright-coloured beads.
“What is it—a robe of state?” Laura inquired.
“Yes, the ceremonial dress,” Anne told her, “but you can’t see in this light how pretty it is. Come on, we must join the procession.”
“What has become of your girls?” Laura asked. “They were here a moment ago.”
“They have gone to get their necklaces,” Anne returned. “My girls are all Wood Gatherers as yet—we’ve not been organised long, you know; but they’ve been working hard for honours, and for every honour they are entitled to add a bead to their necklaces.”
“Yours then must represent a great many honours.”
“Yes,” Anne replied. “You see it incites the girls to work for honours when they see that their Guardians have worked and won them. The red beads show that the wearer has won health honours by keeping free from colds, headaches, etc., for a number of months, or by sleeping out of doors, or doing some sort of athletics—walking, swimming, rowing, and the like. The blue ones are for nature study, the black and gold for business, and so on. Each bead has a meaning for the girl—it tells a story—and the more she wins, the finer her record, of course.”