“So you see what it does for the Pioneers, for if any member of the organization breaks a law or does anything wrong she is brought before the Senate. Every Pioneer served with an indictment to appear before the Senate has, of course, the right to choose one of the girls as a counsel, and when there are two girls implicated they both choose counsel. Then after the witnesses are all heard the lawyers sum up, and the case goes to the Senate, who act as a jury and vote by ballot. The case can be appealed to the Advisory Judge; or an offender, by asking or showing contrition, can have her sentence lightened. You don’t know what fun it is, and then it helps to make us govern ourselves and teaches us law, too, in a small way, of course.”
“Well, I wish they’d try to punish that hateful Sport for using your idea, and to think she got all the credit for it! Why—”
“No, she didn’t,” laughed Nathalie with an odd little gleam in her eye, “for she was tried before the Senate Saturday.”
“Oh, Nathalie, you don’t mean it! Oh, I’m so glad!” cried Nita clapping her hands delightedly. “I do hope she got her deserts, the deceitful thing!”
“Well, I am afraid she got all that was coming to her, as Dick said.” Nathalie’s bright face sobered. “Nita, I was awfully sorry for her. It was so humiliating to have to face that Senate, oh, the girls just hate to be brought before it. I had to tell as a witness, about losing the Stunt, the librarian told of helping me get data and then helping me to look for it, and then how she saw Edith pick it up as it fell from under a book on the table.”
“Do tell me what they did to her!” Nita bent forward in curious excitement as she spoke.
“Poor thing! she had all her stars and badges of merit taken from her. Just think, she will have to begin all over again to win them! At first it was voted that she would have to go back and be a third-class Pioneer again, but I was so sorry that I pleaded for clemency, and so the sentence was lightened.
“You see, there is an awful lot of good in Edith, and I am never again going to say anything against her, she has been punished enough. And oh, Nita, Dorothy at the Rally received her third-class badge, and I received my badge for a second-class Pioneer. I’m going to work awfully hard while at camp, so as to qualify as a first-class Pioneer. But there, it is getting late and we shall have to stop talking and take up our reading on the ‘Pioneer Women of America.’”
Nita nodded, and in a few moments the two girls were busily engaged; Nita listening with the keenest attention while Nathalie read about the Dutch women who came from Holland and settled New York, little dreaming as she read that this lesson was to culminate in an event of the utmost importance to the Girl Pioneers of Westport.