"'Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus;' _'Whatsoever_ ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.' Those verses just held me; I thought about dancing, about all the times in which I had danced, and the people with whom I had danced, and the words we had said to each other, and I could not see that in any possible way it could be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, or that it could be done heartily, as unto the Lord. I settled my own heart with those words; that for me to dance after I knew that whatever in word or deed I did, I was pledged to do _heartily_ for the _Lord_, would be an impossibility." An absolute hush fell upon them all. Marion looked from one to the other of the flushed and eager faces, and then at the sweet drooping face of their little Flossy. "We have spent our strength vainly," she said, at last. "It is our privilege to get up higher; to look at all these things from the mount whereon God will let us stand if we want to climb. I think little Flossy has got there." "After all," Eurie said, "that verse would cut off a great many things that are considered harmless." "What does that prove, my beloved Eureka?" Marion said, quickly. "'If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee,' is another Bible verse. These verses of Flossy's mean something, surely. What _do_ they mean, is the question left for us to decide? After all, Ruth, I agree with you; it is a question that must be left to our judgment and common sense; only we are bound to strengthen our common sense and confirm our judgments in the light of the lamp that is promised as a guide to our feet." Almost nothing was said among them after that, except the commonplaces of good-nights. The next afternoon, as Marion was working out a refractory example in algebra for Gracie Dennis, she bent lower over her slate, and said: "Miss Wilbur, did you know that your friends, Miss Erskine, Miss Shipley and Miss Mitchell, had all declined Mrs. Garland's invitation, and sent her an informal little note signed by them all, to the effect that they had decided not to dance any more?" "No," said Marion, the rich blood mounting to her temples, and her face breaking into a smile. "How did you hear?" "Mrs. Garland told my father; she said she honored them for their consistency, and thought more highly of their new departure than she ever had before. It _is_ rather remarkable so early in their Christian life, don't you think?" "Rather," Marion said, with a smile, and she followed it by a soft little sigh. _She_ had not been invited to Mrs. Garland's. There was no opportunity for her to show whether she was consistent or not. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER XIX. KEEPING THE PROMISE. IT was curious how our four girls set about enlarging the prayer-meeting. That idea had taken hold of them as the next thing to be done.