"How do you suppose she ever met that boy?" asked Jane curiously.
"She just was brazen enough to invite acquaintance! Why, Nita'd flirt or dance with any one—as long as he had on fine clothes and was an easy mark to her glances!" scorned Elena.
Miss Miller had come from her tent unobserved and overheard the latter words. She felt distressed at the attitude the girls took and sat down beside them.
"I heard what was just said, girls, and I feel that I must add my opinion to yours. I shall be greatly relieved to know that this is the last we will hear of the discussion over Nita's short-comings. I am not reckless enough to permit her to continue this conduct without having deeply considered every phase of the matter. I am merely giving her, as one might say, rope enough to hang herself! That is, to let her find herself and the real enjoyment of camp-life, or let her rush on until she is too far in to recover her footing with us. I have every hope now, that she is finding herself and will be one of our best Woodcrafters!"
To this the girls had nothing to add, so the Guide concluded by saying, "Please do not discuss this again, and try not to think of it either. Just leave the case to me and let me handle the situation as I am advised to do. I am not alone in this plan of regenerating the child, and it was with the sense of my obligations that I promised to do all I could."
Miss Miller went slowly back to the tent to get the papers for a Council and left the girls bending low over their work but no more was said about Nita's short-comings.
Before the Council convened, Nita came back to the Bluff and took her place in the semi-circle. After the opening song and roll-call, the Guide looked over her honour roll.
"Nita, I'm sorry but we will have to give you a demerit for absence at Council yesterday, and also defer giving you any coup for following a trail accurately as we did. I know you can soon catch up in this but it is more fun when we all work together," said Miss Miller.
Nita said not a word and controlled her features admirably at the mild reproach from the Guide. The marks were placed on the paper and Miss Miller looked up smilingly.
"Who can claim a reward for not chewing gum for three months?"