The Woodcraft Girls in the City Part 7

Miss Miller had heard rumours of Eleanor's gossip and she overheard several disturbing criticisms made during the work on the carpentry, but she said nothing at the time.

Of all the people who knew Eleanor well, Miss Miller was about the only one who studied the girl and understood the _chemicalisation_, so to speak, of the processes going on within the girl's consciousness. The evil desires were fermenting and souring her nature while the sweetness and purifying elements were gradually being spoiled so that presently, a Judas-natured individual would claim the victory over the true, and the battle would be lost for the side of the divine and eternal self.

It was with a thrill of grat.i.tude then, that the Guide recalled her deep perplexities over the waywardness of Nita, that same Summer on the Farm.

How she had studied every phase of the problem and finally won out to the ever-growing betterment of the girl.

"If I can only win the slightest hold on this girl's innate goodness and learn how to appeal to her higher self, I feel sure I can weed out the 'tares' even if it takes a long time. It is well worth the fight for the 'wheat' waiting to be garnered," murmured Miss Miller as she reached the Gymnasium door. Which goes to show what the Guide really thought of Woodcraft and the privileges given her whereby to improve the morals and manners of the girls entrusted to her care.

"Everybody waiting for me to-day?" cheerily called the Guide as she hurried in where the girls were waiting to hold a Sat.u.r.day afternoon Council.

"Yes, we're crazy to pa.s.s judgment on the scenery. Elena makes such a secret of it that not one of us has seen it since she had it sketched out with charcoal. It's back there in that huge roll. The boys brought it in the car a few minutes ago," explained Zan.

"And did you finish the uprights so we can hang the duck?" asked Miss Miller.

"Everything is back in the corner where we decided to have our forest,"

replied Jane.

"Then we can go right to work and place our trees and seats, and some of you can build the log fire-place in the centre for a Council," said the energetic Guide.

A hubbub of instructions and calls and running to and fro continued after this for some time. Miss Miller tried to superintend the raising of the "huge forest timbers."

"Say! Won't one of you girls with nothing to do help me hook up this side of the trees?" called Elena, anxiously, as she found the weight of the duck too heavy to manage alone.

"You've got the trees upside-down!" laughed Jane.

"No I haven't! That's the way Nita painted this piece," retorted Elena.

"Why it looks more like an early settler's log stockade than the beautiful woodland hillside back of the Bluff," replied surprised Jane, eyeing the painting with her head on one side.

"S-s.h.!.+ Nita'll hear you! She is so proud of it! She says it is a much better line of trees than my forest!" whispered Elena, proudly displaying her art work.

Zan came over to a.s.sist in hanging the duck and smiled behind the painting as she heard Elena explain the various "scenes" depicted on the great stretch of cotton.

"This is the flat rock where we sat telling bedtime stories; here is the swimming pool, and up there is Fiji's cave. I tried to get in Bill's cottage below the Bluff but my paint gave out," explained Elena, as the three girls lifted and stretched the canvas and hung the hooks over the taut wire.

"But the way you measured and cut the scenery, we'll have to unhook the cave and Bluff every time we need one side open. You made the other three sides all stockade, you see," commented Zan.

"That's so! I never thought of that. We will have to omit one whole side at times, won't we?" responded Elena,

"Still, I think it will be easier to fold down or hang up a Bluff than to hew through a great row of giant tree-trunks, Zan," laughed Jane.

Finding Elena too serious over her painting to laugh or enjoy a joke about it, the other two girls called that all was ready for the admiring audience.

As the group stood about the Council circle looking over the woodland scene, some smiled, some sniffed, and some looked delighted at the result. Miss Miller saw the disappointment on Nita's face and remarked: "We joyfully accept this attempt to paint the cherished mental picture of Wickeecheokee Camp-a scene that defies all words or arts to describe."

"But Miss Miller, you must admit that this scenery is misleading to new Woodcrafters. We have ranted of stars, and streams, and the breath of balsam pines; but where, oh where, is there any such 'atmosphere' to be found in this painting!" Zan cried dramatically, as she posed and threw out both arms towards the canvas.

"Atmosphere! Good gracious, Zan, can you ask for more!" laughed Jane, in response to Zan's call. "Did you ever smell such an odour of the turpentine that comes from pine?"

The girls all laughed but Nita complained pathetically:

"If you girls _knew_ the job it was to smear all that paint on the old stuff, you wouldn't poke fun at the trees. Why, the duck soaked up my paint as fast as I put it on, so of course I had to use gallons of turp to make it spread at all. Even then, it dried before I could shade any bark on my trees."

"You all say I am too matter-of-fact a cook to be an artist, but I bet I could take a handful of the superfluous paint on those trees and knead it into something resembling 'tall timbers'," now commented Hilda.

"No one could! Why we had to hang the duck along the wall of our attic and stand on an old library table while we painted the tops of the trees! Just try to make bark or leaves on a tree that has to be painted with a heavy kalsomine brush. Our arms got so lame before we painted an hour that we fairly cried with the ache in the bones," said Elena, defiantly.

"Yes, and Elena's attic is so bespattered with raw umber and ivory black that Mrs. Marsh says she will have to stain the entire floor now to make it look decent again," added Nita.

"Well girls, we are all genuine Woodcrafters, so we hail with thanksgiving this scenery that fills our lungs with the pungent odour of the forest. I, for one, will breathe deeply of this pine product!"

laughed Miss Miller, turning the criticism to fun.

"Well, all I can say is that I feel grateful for these great stout logs that will protect us from Winter's icy winds and the hungry horde of howling wolves-the menace of pioneers in the forest!" added Zan.

"They're all right in Winter but how about the longed for shade in Summer when the fierce rays of the sun beat upon our unprotected heads?

We have no branches overhead," remarked May, whimsically.

"Now you've all joshed Nita and me quite enough-let's proceed with the Council," said Elena, looking beseechingly toward Miss Miller.

So the meeting was opened and during the singing of the Prayer of Invocation, the Guide focussed her camera and took a snap-shot of the girls standing in the "Scenic Woodland Council."

After the Tally of the last meeting had been read and other business disposed of, Miss Miller said:

"Is there any particular work you girls plan to do this coming week?"

"O Chief!" said Nita, jumping to salute Zan. "We really must plan some new dances for this Fall, especially if we are going to celebrate a big Hallow E'en Council and invite our friends."

"As this is the last week of September, we haven't any too much time, either," added Jane.

"Well, let's commission Nita to dig up some new and entertaining folk songs that can be acted out in a dance," suggested Zan, looking to the Guide for approval of the idea.

"Elena, make a note in your Tally that Nita will find us some new dancing songs before next Council," replied Miss Miller.

"O Chief!" now spake Hilda. "When we broke camp for the Summer we were all quite keen to win _coups_ for needle-craft, carpentry, and other work. Besides, we want to secure degrees for some of the big stunts like Mrs. Remington's Tribe have won."

"Oh, that reminds me! Elizabeth Remington said she would gladly help us to learn how to start the pottery and carpentry work. Then too, she said her mother thought we ought to plan to have a Little Lodge attached to our Tribe, as many Big Lodges have," cried Zan, eagerly.

"It is very good of Elizabeth to offer her time to help you girls; as for the Little Lodge, I would not think of it till your two Bands are filled and the Tribe is chartered and well under way," replied the Guide.

"O Chief! Can't we start the pottery work first 'cause Zan knows a lot about designing since she started that cla.s.s-work in school," suggested Hilda.

"I was not aware that Zan had graduated from the School of Design so soon. Did you really finish in two lessons, Zan?" teased the Guide.

"Oh, you know what Hilda means-she thinks that now I can find out about real designing we all can profit by it," explained Zan.

"Instead of pottery which is a step beyond carpentry, I would suggest that the Band make some objects in wood according to the Manual rules for winning _coups_," advised Miss Miller.

"Why can't you old members wait a little while and give us new members time to win the flower, star, and tree _coups_ such as you earned at Camp this Summer?" asked Frances Mason.