could aspire, and she wanted to be on the top.  As yet she had seen no evidence of a humble desire to lose herself so deeply in the joy of service for others that self was forgotten.  Agony was a born leader, there was no doubt about that, but Nyoda knew that she was not yet ruler over her own spirit.  To the Winnebagos it seemed that Agony was already a Torch Bearer beyond compare, but Nyoda’s inner voice of wisdom whispered, “Not yet.”  Agony must win that title in humility and self-forgetfulness before she could glory in it.

So she replied quietly, “When you have earned the right to be called Torch Bearer you shall be made one, but remember, Agony, that one does not become a Torch Bearer merely by earning a certain number of honor beads and standing up and repeating the Torch Bearer’s Desire.  A girl must have shown a steady power of leadership for a long time, and must satisfy all the questions in the Guardian’s mind about her fitness for the rank.  Also remember, Agony, that true leadership does not necessarily mean taking the world by storm and being tremendously popular with people.  It may sometimes mean retiring to the background and playing a very insignificant part, instead of being always in the limelight.  A good leader is first of all a good team worker, one who is willing to suppress her own personal inclinations for the good of the cause.”

Agony, who was not given to examining her own faults very closely, failed to see wherein she fell short in any of these requirements, and was filled with elation as she thought that just as soon as Nyoda began taking special notice of her she would see that she was a candidate par excellence for the title of Torch Bearer.

“You shouldn’t have asked to be made a Torch Bearer!” Sahwah whispered in her ear while Nyoda was stirring up the fire.  “That isn’t the way to do it; it’s like handing yourself a bouquet!”

“Well, I didn’t know it,” Agony whispered back, not a whit abashed.  “In our other group we had to ask for everything we got or we never would have gotten it.”

Nyoda then turned to Oh-Pshaw, who had sat silent and thoughtful during the whole Council Meeting.

“Are you ready to be a Torch Bearer, too?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” replied Oh-Pshaw modestly.  “I’m not worthy to be called a Torch Bearer.  I’m not a born leader, like Agony is.”  There was a world of unexpressed longing in her voice.

Nyoda thought seriously about the matter.  Oh-Pshaw was certainly humble and unassuming enough, always kind and sweet and obliging, always willing to take any part in anything that was assigned her, but did she have the grit and backbone, the force of character which Nyoda considered necessary qualifications for a Torch Bearer?  As yet she did not know.

The subject was dropped.  The circle sat in a silence for a moment.  Each one of the Torch Bearers in that circle was humbly wondering what Nyoda had ever seen in her to cause her to single her out for the honor.  And each one became very sober as she thought about it and wondered if she had come up to Nyoda’s expectations.