Lillian Elizabeth Roy

“ That's why I was in such a hurry to get back to camp," sobbed Nita.
"Is he all you would choose in a friend or brother?"
"Mercy, no! Oh, Miss Miller, he is horrid, but he seems to make me do just as he says when he looks at me with a queer glint in his eyes. He has money, and when his grand-mother dies he will inherit all of her fortune, too. Mother says I must marry a rich man when I grow up—she says it will never do for me to be as poor as father is. And I don't want to be poor, either!" cried Nita. ”

“ The sweep downward from the Falls to the bridge had been cleared of undergrowth so that the view presented—fields of buttercups and daisies in the foreground and Bill Sherwood's farm-land and cottage by the road that ran over the Big Bridge—was a most decided contrast to the wild beauty of the woods and cliffs.
"Well!" sighed some of the girls, "No wonder Zan wanted to camp here!"
"Isn't it beautiful! It is more like an artist's ideal than actuality!" added Miss Miller.
"Daddy purchased the place from a well-known American artist," explained Zan, enjoying the appreciation of her friends. ”

“ Nita hurried away and Miss Miller ran into her tent and threw herself beside her cot. "Oh, thank you, God! thank you, thank you! I am so happy over this one lamb found on the steep mountain-side! Safe in the fold, she will grow to love purity and truth better than evil."
The girls were bubbling with delight over their walk—the bugs, the birds, and even a snake, had been watched and admired.
"Didn't Nita come back yet?" asked Zan, after a short interval, and no sign of the girl was to be seen. ”

“ As long as all of you have voted against me, I shall have to accept your verdict," whined Nita.
"You don't have to do anything of the sort! You can join a crowd of girls who all want to do just what you do—fool away the whole summer on dancing or flirting. We're not going in for that kind of a riot, and you can just make up your mind to having a good old rest and all-round country life, if you chum with us!" came from Zan, in emphatic tones. ”

“ The Guide got up from her chair as a signal that the story-telling was over for the day, and the girls stretched out on the rug wishing the hour was ten instead of twelve.
"If you had all you wanted of one good thing you would never realise all the good things in store for you," said Miss Miller.
"I suppose lunch is a good thing, but when you have to get it before eating it, it somehow loses its quality of goodness," replied Hilda, getting up on hands and knees before standing erect. ”

“ Nita said nothing but she must have felt as lame as the other beginners; as all seemed to long for bed, Miss Miller rose and smothered the few red coals by covering them with dead grey ashes.
"Never leave a camp-fire with a spark of fire in it. At early dawn, or at least past midnight, fire always revives and, unless its flame has been choked by outside means, it flares up and consumes anything in its reach."
"Miss Miller, I wonder why it is that, without apparent fuel or fanning, fire will renew itself during the wee hours of the night!" exclaimed Zan. ”

“ Cheokee nosed his little mistress affectionately, while the girls looked on. "I should think she'd be afraid to go so near a horse," said Elena, the timid.
"You wouldn't feel afraid of a little poodle, would you?" asked Miss Miller.
"But a little dog can't hurt you while a big horse might bite or walk all over you!" replied Elena.
"Not when he knows you, as this pet knows Zan. He is just a great big poodle—in a way; he is as tame and is as eager to please and be petted as any lap-dog!"
While they waited for Zan to rejoin them, Bill Sherwood came from the barn with a pail of water for Cheokee. ”

“ We still have power over stars and planets, and I, for one, refuse to be domineered by a light, shining millions of miles away from [245] me. What kind of a guardian do you suppose that planet would make?"
"Then why do folks call Mars the Planet of War, and say that it is always a blood-red for a long time before a war or national strife occurs?" asked Zan.
"No one really knows that Mars is more war-like in its office than Venus or Jupiter. But I will not tell you more of Mars until Zan has found him and told us what she knows," said Miss Miller. ”

“ And so it proved. The queen soon fluttered away and circled about the glade for a few moments, then settled on a low-hanging bough of wild cherry tree. Instantly, a mass of buzzing, living creatures settled about her and the swarm was on—full blast!
When it had been successfully hived and the girls drew a long breath once more, Bill cracked his hands together in token of congratulation for himself.
"That's th' neatest job I ever did on bees! Not a single mishap, and th' queen in that as happy as can be!" ”

“ When you mentioned tennis and croquet, to say nothing of the golf-links, you failed to give us a hint of farmer or wife," said Miss Miller.
"Well, I had my mind full of sports, you see, and I never class Bill as a sport!" laughed Zan, the others joining her.
"What's he like?" queried Jane, while Nita added, "Has he any sons?"
"Nita thinks, 'better a farmer than no son at all!'" teased Hilda, for Nita's preference for boys was no secret with the girls.
"Bill hasn't any family, but he will act as her escort if she needs a drive about the country for her health!" laughed Zan. ”

“ This tree is a living thing—it has as much of the divine authority to live as we have. It has as much divine intelligence as anything created for a purpose. [109] So, this tree is recognised by me, who am also created by the same Father for a purpose, as a living thing growing to beautify the universe and to provide man with delicious food."
"Oh, Miss Miller if you were only a man what a fine preacher you would make!" exclaimed Zan enthusiastically.
"I can preach as well in my sphere as a woman!" laughed Miss Miller.
"Oh! are you a suffragist!" gasped Nita. ”

“ Every one knows a bathtub is perfectly safe, while lightning isn't," declared Jane.
"I see! Then it resolves itself into familiarity with the things you know about—and the danger of lightning is in its elusiveness at being studied and not in its power?" laughed Miss Miller, pleased at the way the girls walked in the trap.
"Mother always closes the doors and windows during a storm and won't let me sit on the porch, either. Why is that?" asked Elena, while the other girls forgot their fear in the interesting discussion under way. ”

“ It is merely our ignorance of ways of rural life. Just as soon as we really get down to business we will be astonished at our progress. I remember how it was with our classes in school. From the books it seemed too hard to master, but whenever we took a trip to the woods to study botany, and other things, it just became so easy!" added Elena.
"All right, let's go to it now!" cried Zan.
"Zan, if I was a member of the National Council I would surely exile any one who used slang as much as Hilda and you do!" remonstrated Miss Miller.
"I just bet more than half the girls would be exiled then!" ”

“ The Bluff, as Zan said the ledge of rock was called, extended from the Falls back forty feet to the pathway, finally burying itself under moss and thick grass, just where the girls stood. Above the Falls the ground rose gradually at first, then abruptly, with great boulders of rock jutting forth here and there. The swift-running stream cleft through the steep sides, thus forming a miniature canyon, and, where the rocks hung over the water, masses of lichen, arbutus, [49] and creepers suspended in a tangled riot. The skyline was entirely hidden by the thick growth of forest trees. ”

“ Mercy me, Miss Miller, what for?" laughed Jane.
"We may just as well keep bees as any one else! And just think of all the fun we will have watching and caring for them. Wickee and Cheokee were valuable additions to our Band, but I believe bees will add just as much value."
"Well, if you say so, I'm perfectly willing to get stung!" laughed Zan, making a perfectly legitimate use of slang.
"Bees won't sting if you don't annoy them! We won't tease them, and after we have some swarms in our hives the bees will get to know each one of us by sound and smell," explained the Guide. ”

“ That sly old hen had gone after them and led them back to their original home—and there they've stayed ever since! Whenever we come down to visit the farm those daffy old hens cluck and wriggle about Fiji's feet as if he were the Prince and they his subjects!"
"I think that is lovely! To think of those hens showing their joy and recognition that way!" exclaimed Miss Miller, amazed.
"Daddy says that Fiji has the true Nature instinct, [63] for every animal he meets seems to know him instantly and show a regard for him," added Zan. ”

“ What kind of sap?" asked the girls curiously.
"Why, maple sap, you ninnies! Didn't you know this was a sap-bush?" laughed Zan, looking at her companions to assure herself that they were in earnest.
"I never heard of a sap-bush! I don't see any bushes!" retorted Nita.
"Ha-ha-ha! It's these maples that give us the sap for maple-sugar. I bet there's lots of maple-sugar in the house this very minute. We always come here for a few days when the farmers boil the sap down. It's one of the sports of having a farm." ”

“ Whether any people live to enjoy permanent fair weather, we do not know, because Mars is such a distance away that even with strongest telescopes we can only see different coloured markings on the surface of the planet. I sometimes think that Mars would have to have a wonderful irrigation system to succeed with vegetation if it is inhabited. As it could have no rain, it would have to conserve the melting snows of winter to water its valleys in summer."
"Hurrah! I've found my planet! You never will guess where it is located!" laughed Zan. ”

“ Nita incredulity, Zan amazement, Hilda keen delight, Elena vaguely reaching out for more, Jane intelligent understanding.
"What has all this to do with washing dishes?" asked Nita.
"I am leading up to that; I wish this Band to start at the very beginning to do things right. To do this, [55] we must not do anything thoughtlessly, so the action of our thought on everything about us ought to be thoroughly understood. Anxious thought always produces undesirable effects, just as good, optimistic ones produce harmony and happy results. ”

“ In education of the individual we finally embrace the universal. Thus, it depends upon each one of us to make good—in school studies, at home, in camp—in fact, in every little thing or thought!"
"We'll make good, all right, Miss Miller, as long as we have you to show us how!" cried Hilda, admiringly.
"Yes, indeedy!" added Zan.
The latter part of the talk was far above Nita's head, but she had been quietly thinking of other things. At the pause which followed Zan's exclamation, she asked, "Is the car going to be sent down for us to use, Zan?"
"Car! What for?" wondered Zan. ”

“ Most of the house-work, such as nest building, is done by Mrs. Bluebird while the master of the establishment warbles and flits about to cheer his spouse.
"Soon a few pale blue eggs are laid in the nest and in a short time tiny nestlings appear. Now both parents are out providing food for the children who eat greedily and grow rapidly. When they are strong enough to fly they leave home to seek their own fortunes and Mrs. Bluebird starts another brood."
"That was very good, Jane; now, do you think you can recognise a bluebird when you see one?" said the Guide. ”

“ And the crex mats in the tents!" complained Nita.
"Humph! Feel of the mats!" laughed Zan, jumping up and down in her tent to hear the water squash underneath the piece of matting.
"My bed's all dry!" shouted Jane joyously.
"So's mine!" came from Elena.
"I'm thankful to say that mine is dry, too!" said Miss Miller, prodding the mattress.
"I put the rubber blanket over mine, so I know it's dry as bones!" laughed Zan.
"That is what we all should have done, for the dampness will permeate even if the tents are water-proof," said the Guide, spreading the rubber over her cot. ”

“ Then, those string beans in that patch of dwarf beans, and the peas hanging on the bushes—why, there is such an endless variety growing that we will have to turn regular cooks to be able to enjoy all that Nature has provided," exclaimed Miss Miller.
"We don't know how to cook, and you shouldn't spend so much time cooking for us," remonstrated Jane.
"I do not intend to. I'm going to show you girls how to cook your own meals. The one who won't cook gets no meal!"
What turn the conversation may have taken can never be told, for at that moment a loud sound came from the barn. ”

“ He is old-fashioned and doesn't favour French heels and low-necked dresses. He is most orthodox and thinks such frills a sin and a breach of the commandments!" laughed Zan.
"How will we reach the farm, Zan, if it is so far from the station and no way to get there?" asked Elena, dubiously.
"Oh, Bill will get us there, even if he carries us in the old spring wagon, which is preferable to the vehicle he used the first time we ever visited the farm," exclaimed Zan, following her words with a contagious laugh, rocking back and forth until the girls demanded to know what caused her mirth. ”

“ Then, too, it would be allowing electricity to have intelligence to see a pathway of light, and that would be paganism. All intelligence comes from God, the Spirit, and no current of force, or object of material sense can rob Spirit of its prerogative. When we sift out many fears we find them actually based on old superstitions that have in some way been handed down since the days before the Christian Era."
"Miss Miller, why is it that a barn is more often struck than a house in town?" asked Jane, after a short silence. ”

“ They are too good-natured for their own protection!" said the Guide, as they trudged along the field-path.
"Let's sit down by this hedge and have a story, Miss Miller," suggested Hilda, who loved to hear the Guide's nature stories.
"Just for a few moments, then! We must not waste any time."
"Tell us something about bees, Miss Miller. Now, that our hives have come and we are waiting for a swarm to live in them, we ought to know something about their habits," coaxed Hilda.
So, the Guide told the girls all she could remember from her experience with bees when she was a girl at home. ”

“ A queer bird I want to tell you about is the loon. You will not find him about this section of the country, but some day when we camp farther north in the mountains, we will recognise him readily. He utters a cry so like the wail of a human being that it is hard to believe a mere bird can do it. ”

“ Often we will see masses of cloud banked up, so like snow-mountains and reflecting such brightness that it dazzles us to gaze at them. The thick clouds that surround Venus prevent us, on earth, from seeing any of its continents or oceans that may be there. Sometimes, when a cloud thins out we can peep through [242] and catch a glimpse of the markings of this beautiful planet."
When the Guide concluded, the girls turned their attention to the sky again. Soon after Jane called, "I see a great big star—or rather planet. I suppose it is Jupiter, as I know Jupiter always travels near Venus." ”

“ This is a story which centers around the making and the enjoying of a mountain camp, spiced with the fun of a lively troop of Girl Scouts. The charm of living in the woods, of learning woodcraft of all sorts, of adventuring into the unknown, combine to make a busy and an exciting summer for the girls. ”

“ I made Elena, as well as all of you, think of something entirely foreign to the snake. By rousing your interest in another object, you unconsciously overcame the nausea, and later, I gradually drew your thoughts back to the very object that seemed to cause your illness, but in what a different frame of mind you examined the idea the second time. Well, girls, after all is said and done, it gets down to using our 'thinking machine more' does it not?" laughed the Guide. ”