“As I said before, there is only one thing left for you, in honour bound, to do. And that is to tell May all about the trick—as you name it—and let her tell the other girls if she likes,” replied Miss Miller.
“I just guess not! I’m not so stuck on this silly old Band as to obey your fanatical advice. I’ll get out of Woodcraft first!” snipped Eleanor, as she got up and hurriedly left the room.
The Guide, left alone, sighed and dropped her head upon her arms that were resting on the desk.
“I am not so sure but someone else will do better in my place as Guide. The other girls are so good and lovable that I can work wonders with them, but it was not the lambs in the fold that our Saviour sought to save—they were perfectly safe already. It was the disobedient, wandering lamb on the mountain-steeps. And He saved it. This lamb seems beyond my call or power to reach.”
Then suddenly came the brightening flash of Nita and the wonderful reformation worked in the girl when all seemed lost. And the temporarily discouraged Guide stood up and smiled.
“I’ll do my part. And Father Spirit, lend me all aid!”
During that week, plans were made for another camp to be enjoyed from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. This time the girls decided to climb the Orange Mountains to seek an inland site. For this outing, the Guide had asked the girls to write up short essays or comments on various subjects that would be of interest to an out-door student.
One request was for facts on forestry movements. Another required the girl to find something interesting about the fishing industry. Another mentioned items on agriculture, and still others spoke of news on manufactures, music, art, flowers, and Nature crafts.
The work necessary to find the facts to these questions kept the girls well occupied during the evenings of that week, as they had to seek in the public library as well as in magazines, papers, and encyclopedias at home.
After all the hard work and eager preparations, when all were ready to start that Friday afternoon, the Woodcrafters were doomed to deep disappointment. It began to drizzle shortly after school opened in the morning and the weather grew constantly worse until the rain was pouring by recess time. By noon the out-of-doors proved a veritable “wet blanket” on the spirits of the Woodcrafters and they gathered disconsolately in the gymnasium at three o’clock, wishing they lived in Egypt at the dry season of the year.