Part 24 (2/2)
Miss Amesbury heard her through with a quiet smile. Agony looked up, encountered her gaze and stopped speaking. ”Don't you think I can?” she asked quickly.
”It is possible,” replied Miss Amesbury tranquilly. ”Everything is possible. 'We are all architects of fate;' you must have heard that line quoted before. Everyone carries his future in his own hands; fate has really nothing to do with it. Whatever kind of bud we are, such a flower we will be. We cannot make ourselves; all we can do is blossom. This Other Person that you see in your golden dreams is after all only you, changed from the You that you are now into the You that you hope to be.
If we are little, stunted buds we cannot be big, glorious blossoms. The Future is only a great many Nows added up. It is the things you are doing now that will make your future glorious or abject. To be a n.o.ble woman you must have been a n.o.ble girl. You are setting your face now in the direction in which you are going to travel. Every worthy action you perform now will open the way for more worthy actions in the future, and the same is true of unworthy ones.”
Agony sat very still.
”It is the thing we stand for ourselves that makes us an influence for evil or good,” continued Miss Amesbury, ”not the thing that we preach.
That is why so much of the so-called 'uplift work' in the world has no effect upon the persons we are trying to uplift--we try to give them something which we do not possess ourselves. We cannot give something which we don't possess, don't ever forget that, dear child. Be sure that your own torch is burning brightly before you attempt to light someone else's with it.
”You know, Agony, that after Jesus went away out of the Temple at the age of twelve years we do not hear of him again until he was a grown man of thirty. What took place in those years we will never know exactly; but in those Silent Years He prepared Himself for His glorious destiny.
He must have conquered Self, day by day, until He was master over all his moods and desires, to be able to influence others so profoundly. He must have developed a sympathetic understanding of His friends and playfellows, to know so intimately the troubles of all the mult.i.tudes which he afterwards met. These are _your_ Silent Years, Agony. What you make of them will determine your future.”
”Why, where is everybody?” Agony asked wonderingly as they drew their canoe up on the dock and went up the hill path. n.o.body was in sight, but a subdued sound of cheering and laughter came from the direction of Mateka.
”Oh, I forgot,” cried Agony. ”There _is_ something tonight in Mateka, a meeting. Dr. Grayson announced it this noon at dinner, but I forgot all about it and hurried through supper tonight so I could come out on the river with you. I wonder what it was about. Come on, let's go up, maybe we can get there before it's over.”
They were just going up the steps of Mateka when half a dozen girls rushed out of the door and fell upon Agony.
”Where on earth have you been? We've been hunting all over camp for you.
You're elected most popular camper! You've won the Buffalo Robe! Oh, Agony, you've won the Buffalo Robe!”
It was Oh-Pshaw who was speaking, and she cast herself on her twin's neck and kissed her rapturously.
Agony stood very still on the steps, looking in a dazed sort of way from one to the other of the faces around her.
”Oh, Agony, don't you understand? You've won the Buffalo Robe!” Oh-Pshaw repeated laughingly. ”We had the election tonight. You won by a big majority. It's all on account of the robin. n.o.body else had done anything nearly so splendid. Oh, but I'm proud to be your twin sister!”
Then all the rest came out of Mateka and surrounded Agony, telling her how glad they were she had won the Buffalo Robe, and they ended up by taking her on their shoulders into Mateka and setting her down before the Robe where it hung on the wall. It would be formally presented to her at the farewell banquet two nights later.
”We're going to paint a robin on it as a record of your brave deed,”
said Migwan. ”Hinpoha is working on the design right now.”
Agony's emotions were tumultous as she stood there in Mateka before the Buffalo Robe with the girls singing cheer after cheer to her. First triumph flooded her whole being, and delight and satisfaction that she had won the biggest honor in Camp took complete possession of her. The most popular girl in camp! The desire of her heart, born on that first, far off day at camp, had been realized. The precious trophy was hers to take home, to exhibit to Nyoda. She was the center of all eyes; her name was on every lip.
Then, in the midst of her triumph the leaden weight began to press down on her spirits, pulling her back to realization. Her smile faded, her lips trembled, her voice was so husky that she could hardly speak.
”It's--so--hot--in--here,” she panted. ”Let me go out where it's cool.”
And all unsuspecting they led her out and bore her to her tent in triumph.
CHAPTER XVI
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