ed and turned wonderingly toward the young
leader. He had corn-colored hair, light, ineffective blue eyes, and a
noticeably weak chin. He did not look like a person who would be
putting forth a topic of that sort and attempting to do anything about
it. His face grew pink, and his eyelashes seemed whiter in contrast as
he stood up to give out the first hymn. It was plain that he was
painfully embarrassed. He glanced now and then deprecatingly toward
the visitors with an anxious gasp as he announced that they would open
the meeting by singing number twenty-nine. The two young strangers
opened their hymn-books and found the place, marvelling how such a
youth had ever been persuaded to get himself into such a trying
situation. Allison found himself thinking that there must be some
power greater than the ordinary influences of life that made him do
it. He seemed so much out of his element, and so painfully shy.

"All to Jesus I surrender!" chirped the little gathering gayly. They
had good voices, and the harmony was simple and pleasing. Allison and
Leslie joined their beautiful voices in with the rest, and liked it,
felt almost as if they were on the verge of doing something toward
helping on the kingdom of heaven.

They sang another hymn, and more young people came in until there were
twenty-four in the room. Then the leader called upon Tom Forbes to
read the Scripture, and a boy about fourteen years old read in a clear
voice the story of the walk to Emmaus. To the brother and sister whose
Bible knowledge was limited to the days of their very young childhood,
it was most interesting. They listened intently, but were surprised
to notice a tendency to whisper on the part of some, especially the
girls in the back seat, who had been joined by three young fellows of
about their own age and caliber. Leslie, glancing over her shoulder at
the whisperers, saw they had no thrill over the story, no interest
save in their own voluble conversation. The story went on to the point
where Jesus at the table blessed the bread, and the two men knew Him,
and He vanished out of their sight, without an interruption in the
whispering. The Great Companion had come into the room and gone, and
they had not even known it.

The leader rose, and cleared his voice with courage; and then in a
tone of diffidence he recited the few words he had learned for the
occasion.

"Our topic to-night is 'The Great Companion: How to Live with Him.' It
seems hard