The Torch Bearer - A Camp Fire Girls' Story

I. T. (Ida Treadwell) Thurston

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• Publié par: omme
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 27
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Torch Bearer, by I. T. Thurston This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Torch Bearer A Camp Fire Girls' Story Author: I. T. Thurston Release Date: December 23, 2007 [eBook #23987] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TORCH BEARER*** E-text prepared by Roger Frank and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) The Torch Bearer BY I. T. THURSTON The Torch Bearer A Camp Fire Girls’ Story. Illustrated, 12mo, net $1.00. The author of “The Bishop’s Shadow” and “The Scout Master of Troop 5” has scored another conspicuous success in this new story of girl life. She shows conclusively that she knows how to reach the heart of a girl as well as that of a boy. The Scout Master of Troop 5 By author of “The Bishop’s Shadow.” Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.00. “The daily life of the city boys from whom the scouts are recruited is related, and the succession of experiences afterward coming delightfully to them—country hikes, camp life, exploring expeditions, and the finding of real hidden treasure. The depiction of boy nature is unusually true to life, and there are many realistic scenes and complications to try out traits of character.”—N. Y. Sun. The Big Brother of Sabin Street Containing the story of Theodore Bryan (The Bishop’s Shadow). Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.00. “This volume is the sequel to the Story of Theodore Bryan, ‘The Bishop’s Shadow,’ which came into prominence as a classic among boys’ books and was written to supply the urgent demand for a story continuing the account of Theodore’s work among the boys.”—Western Recorder . The Bishop’s Shadow Illustrated, cloth, net $1.00. “A captivating story of dear Phillips Brooks and a little street gamin of Boston. The book sets forth the almost matchless character of the Christlike bishop in most loving and lovely lines.”—The Interior . The Torch Bearer THE TORCH BEARER A Camp Fire Girls’ Story BY I. T. THURSTON Author of “The Bishop’s Shadow,” “The Scout Master of Troop 5,” Etc., Etc. ILLUSTRATED Fleming H. Revell Company L O NDO N A ND NEW YORK CHICAGO T ORONTO E DI NB URG H Copyright, 1913, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 125 N. Wabash Ave. Toronto: 25 Richmond St., W. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street To M. N. T. ILLUSTRATIONS The Torch Bearer “At Last a Tiny Puff of Smoke Arose” “Soon the Flames Began to Blaze and Crackle, Filling the Air with a Spicy Fragrance” A Group of Girls Busy Over Beadwork “We Pull Long, We Pull Strong” “Wood had Been Gathered Earlier in the Day” A Favorite Rendezvous At the Camp “Just Think of the Lookout This Very Minute!” Frontispiece 14 20 34 78 90 212 220 CONTENTS I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. THE C AMP IN THE FOREST INTRODUCING THE PROBLEM THE C AMP C OWARD D ARES THE POOR THING WIND AND WEATHER A WATER C URE H ONOURS WON ELIZABETH AT H OME JIM SADIE PAGE BOYS AND OLD LADIES N ANCY R EXTREW A C AMP FIRE C HRISTMAS LIZETTE AN OPEN D OOR FOR ELIZABETH C AMP FIRE GIRLS AND THE FLAG SONIA THE TORCH U PLIFTED C LEAR SHINING AFTER D ARKNESS 11 24 31 44 65 77 88 98 119 137 147 155 168 181 200 212 220 233 243 11 I THE CAMP IN THE FOREST “Wohelo—wohelo—wo-he-lo!” The clear, musical call, rising from the green tangle of the forest that fringed the bay, seemed to float lingeringly above the treetops and out over the wide stretch of gleaming water, to a girl in a green canoe, who listened intently until the last faint echo died away, then began paddling rapidly towards the wooded slope. The sun, just dropping below the horizon, flooded the western sky with a blaze of colour that turned the wide waters into a sea of gold, through which the little craft glided swiftly, scattering from its slender prow showers of shining drops. “I’m going to find out what that means,” the girl said under her breath. “It sounds like an Indian call, but I’m sure those were not Indian voices.” On and on, steadily, swiftly, swept the green canoe, until, rounding a wooded point, it slipped suddenly into a beautiful little cove where there was a floating dock with a small fleet of canoes and rowboats surrounding it, and steps leading up the slope. The girl smiled as she stepped lightly out on the dock, and fastened her canoe to one of the rings. “A girls’ camp it surely is,” she said to herself. “I’m going to get a glimpse of it anyhow.” Running up the steps, she followed a well-trodden path through a pine grove, and in a few minutes, through the trees, she caught the gleam of white tents and stopped to reconnoitre. A dozen or more tents were set irregularly around an open space; also there was a large frame building with canvas instead of boarding on two sides, and adjoining this a small frame shack, evidently a kitchen—and girls were everywhere. “O, I’m hungry for girls!” breathed the one peering through the green branches. “I wonder if I dare venture——” She broke off abruptly, staring in surprise at a group approaching her. Then she ran forward crying out, “Why, Anne Wentworth—to think of finding you here!” “To think of finding you here, Laura Haven! Where did you drop from?” cried the other. The two were holding each other’s hands and looking into each other’s faces with eyes full of glad surprise. “I? I didn’t drop—I climbed—up the steps from the landing,” Laura laughed. “I was out on the bay in my canoe—we came up yesterday in the yacht—and I heard that beautiful Indian call, and I just had to find out where it came from, and what it meant. I suspected a girls’ camp, but of course I never dreamed of finding you here. Do tell me all about it. It is a camp, isn’t it?” “Yes, we are Camp Fire Girls,” Anne Wentworth replied. She glanced behind her, but the others had disappeared. “They vanished for fear they might be in the way,” she said. “O Laura, I’m so glad you’re here, for this is the night for our Council Fire. You can stay to it, can’t you—I’m sure you would be interested.” “Stay—how long? It’s after sunset now.” “O, stay all night with me, and all day to-morrow. You must stay to the Council Fire to-night, anyhow.” “I’d love to dearly, but father won’t know where I am.” Laura’s voice was full of regret. “Why can’t you go back and tell him? I’ll go with you,” Anne suggested. “Will there be time before your Council Fire?” “Yes, if we hurry—wait one minute.” Anne called to the nearest girl, gave her a brief message, and turned again to her friend. “Come on, we’ve no time to lose, but I know how you can make a canoe fly,” she said, and hand-in-hand the two went scurrying through the grove and down to the landing. Then while the canoe swept swiftly over the water, Anne Wentworth answered the eager questions of her friend. “It’s a new organisation—the Camp Fire Girls,” she explained. “It is something like the Boy Scouts only, I think, planned on broader lines and with higher and finer ideals—at any rate it is better suited for girls. It aims to help them to be healthy, useful, trustworthy, and happy. Health—work—love—as shown in service—these are the ideals on which we try to build. We have three grades. 13 12 First a girl becomes a Wood Gatherer; then after passing certain tests, a Fire Maker, then a Torch Bearer.” “And which are you?” Laura asked. “I’m a Guardian—that is, I am the head of one of our city Camp Fires. Mrs. Royall is our Chief Guardian.” She went on to explain about the work and play, the tests and rewards, ending with, “But you’ll understand it all so much better after our Council Fire to-night.” Laura nodded. “What kind of girls is it for—poor girls—working girls?” she asked. “It is for any kind of girls—just girls, you know. Of course we can’t admit any bad ones, nothing else matters. Dorothy Groves is one of my twelve, and I’ve two dear little High School girls; all the rest are working girls. They can stay here at the camp only two weeks—some of them only ten days—the working girls, I mean, and it would make your heart ache to see how much those ten days mean to them, and how intensely they enjoy even the commonest pleasures of camping out.” “Who pays for them?” Laura demanded. “They pay for themselves. It’s no charity, and the charges are very low. They wouldn’t come if it were charity.” Laura shook her head half impatiently. “It’s so hard to get a chance really to help the ones who need help most,” she said. “Yes, it surely is,” Anne agreed; and then they were alongside the big white yacht with its shining brass, and Judge Haven was helping them up the steps. Fifteen minutes later they were on their way back to the camp, but this time in a boat rowed by two of the crew. The last golden gleam of the afterglow was fading slowly in the West as the two girls came again through the pines into the open space between the tents. Mrs. Royall met them and made Laura cordially welcome. “She’s just the right one—a real camp mother,” Anne said, as she led her friend over to a group gathered on the grass before one of the tents. “And these are my own girls,” she added, introducing each by name. 14 “At last a tiny puff of smoke arose” “You’ve got to take me right in,” Laura told them. “I can’t help it if I am an odd number—I’m going to belong to this particular Camp Fire to-night.” “Of course we’ll take you in, and love to. Aren’t you Miss Anne’s friend?” said one, as she snuggled down on the grass beside Laura. “It’s so nice you came on our Council Fire night!” Laura’s eyes swept the group. “It must be nice—you all look so happy,” she answered. Anne Wentworth excused herself for a few minutes, and Laura settled back against a tree with a little sigh of content