“That’s rank flattery, and it isn’t true, anyhow,” laughed Eleanor.  “But if I am any better than I used to be, it’s because I’ve learned not to think of myself first all the time.  That’s what the Camp Fire teaches us, you see.  Work, and Health, and Love, that’s what Wohelo means.  And it means to work for others, and to love others, and to bring health to others as well as to yourself.  Come down to the farm while we’re there, and you’ll see how it works out.”

Jamieson got up.

“I probably will,” he said, smiling as he held out his hand in farewell.  “I’ll have to come down to consult my client, you see.”

“And you’ll let us know if there’s any news of Zara, Mr. Jamieson, won’t you?” said Bessie.  “I love the idea of going to the farm, but I rather hate to leave the city when I don’t know what may be happening to Zara.”

“You can’t help her by staying here,” said the lawyer, earnestly.  “I’m quite sure of that.  And I really think she’s all right, and that she’s being properly treated.  After all, it’s pretty hard to carry a girl like Zara off and keep her a prisoner against her will.  It would be much better policy to treat her well, and keep her contented.  It’s quite plain that she thought she was going with friends when she went, or she would have made some sort of a row.  And their best policy is to keep her quiet.”

“But they didn’t act that way before we got away from Hedgeville—­clear away, I mean,” said Bessie.  “Farmer Weeks caught her in the road, you know, and locked her in that room the time that I followed her and helped her to get away through the woods.”

“Yes, but that was a very different matter, Bessie.  In that state Weeks had the law on his side.  The court was ready to name him as her guardian, and to bind her over to him until she was twenty-one.  In this state neither he nor anyone else, except her father, has any more right to keep her from going where she likes than they have to tell me what I must do—­as long as we obey the law and don’t do anything that is wrong.”

“Then you think she’s well and happy?”

“I’m quite sure of it,” said Jamieson heartily.  “This isn’t some foreign country.  It’s America, where there are plenty of people to notice anything that seems wrong or out of the ordinary; And if they were treating Zara badly, she’d be pretty sure to find someone who would help her to get away.”

“Yes, this is America,” said Bessie, thoughtfully.  “But you see, Zara has lived in countries where things are very different.  And maybe she doesn’t know her rights.  After all, you know, she thinks her father hasn’t done anything wrong, and still she’s seen him put in prison and kept there.  What I’m afraid of is that she’ll get to think that this is just like the countries she knows best, and be afraid to do anything, or try to get help, no matter what they do.”

“Well, we mustn’t borrow trouble,” said Jamieson, frowning slightly at the thoughts Bessie’s words suggested to him.  “We can’t do anything more now, that’s sure.  Have a good time, and stop worrying.  That’s the best legal advice I can give you right now.”