ew
Bellefonte, Pa., November 29, 1912.
AD
A GIRL
OF THE
Demo cpa.
i
|
' the most for your money.” |
“That's the very thing,” i
“But before you go tell i
Elnora’s
‘as hackled flax. How do you do it?" |
.
“Did she come to the high school to- |
ed Margaret without reply. :
LIMBERLOST | avs cee
among them, and had she been over-'
Se looked and passed by with indiffer-
By | coce becaume she was so very ababhy?
If she had appeared as much better |
GENE STRATTON-PORTER than they as she had looked worse
Aid would her reception have been the |
onl) Doubled same? i
g A Hy, oY Dow vane 1; “There was a strange girl from the
4 country in the freshman class today,” |
===! sald Ellen Brownlee. "and her name
SYNOPSIS ! was Elnora.”
Although a good scholar, Elnora Com-' “That was the girl.” said Margaret. ' ¢
stock, entering high school, is abashed by
her country dress. She needs §20 for
books and tuition fees. Her mother is
unsympathetic, and Elpora teils her trou-
bles to Wesley Sinton, an old neighbor.
[Continued from last week.]
Wesley Sinton walked down the road
a half mile and turned in at the lane
Yeading to his home. His heart was
hot and filled with indignation. He had
told Elnora he did not blame her moth-
er, bnt he did. His wife met him at the
door.
“Did you see anything of Elgora,
Wesley?" she questioned.
“Most too much. Maggie,” he an-
swered.
to town?
to he got right away.”
“Where did you see her. Wesley?
“Along the old Limberlost trail, my
girl, torn to pleces sobbing. Her cour-
age always has been fine, but the thing
she met today wus too much for her.
We ought to have known better than
to let her go that way. 1 ought to
have gone in and seen about this
school business. I''m no man to let a
fatherless giri run into such trouble.
Don’t ery, Maggie. Get me some sup-
per and I'li hitch up and see what we
can do now."
“What can we do. Wesley 7
“1 don’t just know. But we've got
to do something. Kate Comstock will
be a handful, while Einora will be two,
but between us we must see that the
girl is not too hard pressed about
money and that she is dressed so she
is not ridiculous. She's saved us the
wages of a woman many a day. Can't
you make her some decent dresses,
Maggie?”
“Well, I'm wot just what you call
expert, but I could beat Kate Com-
stock all to pleces. 1 know that skirts
should be plaited to the band instead
of gathered nud full enough to sit in
and short enough to walk in. I could
try. There's patterns for sale. Let's
go right away. Wesley.”
“Well, set me a bite of supper while
1 hiteb up”
They drove toward the city through
the beautiful September evening, and
as they went they planned for Elnora.
The only trouble was not whether
they were generous enough to get what
she peeded. but whether she would ac-
cept what they got and what ber moth-
er would say.
They went to a large dry goods store,
and when a clerk asked what they
wanted to see neither of them knew,
80 they stepped to one side and held a
whispered consultation.
“What had we better get, Wesley?”
“Blest if | know!" exclaimed Wes-
fey. “1 thought you wonld manage
that. | know about some things I'm
going to get.”
At that instant several schoolgirls
came into the store and approached
them.
*I'bere!"” exclaimed Wesley breath-
lessty. ‘There, Maggie! Like them!
That's what she needs. Duy like they
have!”
Before she knew it Margaret was
among them.
“1 beg your pardon, girls, but won't
you wait a minute?” she asked.
The girls stopped with wondering
faces,
“It's your clothes,” explained Mrs
Sinton. “You look just beautiful to
me. You look exactly as | should have
wanted to see my girls. They both
fied of dipbtheria when they were lit-
tle. If they bad lived they'd been near
your age now, and i'd want them to
look like you. | know a girl who
would be just as pretty as any of you
it she bad the clothes, but her mother
mother ber some myself.”
“She must be a lucky girl,” said one
“Oh, she loves me,” sald Margaret,
“and | love her. | want her to look |
just like you do.
2
:
i
EEE:
“What do you say to going
There's a few thines has
“Are her people so very poor?” ques- !
tioned Ellen. |
© “No, not poor at all, come ta think '
| of it.” answered Margaret. “It's a pe-
| sullar case. Mrs. Comstock bad a
| great trouble, and she let it change
, her whole life and make a different
| woman of her. She used to be lovely. |
, but all she does now is droop all day’
and walk the edge of the swamp half |
the night and neglect Elnora. If yon!
girls would make life just a little’
easier for her it would be the finest
' thing you ever did.” |
All of them promised they would
| “Now tell me about your hair,” per-
sisted Margaret Sinton. :
So they took her to a tollet counter, |
nnd she bought the proper hair soap.
also a nall file and cold cream for use
after windy days. Then they left her
‘with the experienced clerk, and when
at last Wesley found her she was load-
ed with bundles, and the glint of oth-
er days was In her beautiful eyes.
Wesley carried some packages also.
“Come on, now, let's get home,” he
said. ' !
i
CHAPTER IIL
Wherein Elnora Procures Her Books
and Finds Means of Earning Money.
LL the way home Wesley and
Margaret Sinton discussed how
they shovid give Elnora their
purchases and what Mrs. Com-
stock would say,
“1 am afrald she will he awful
mad,” sald Margaret Sinton tremu-
lously.
“She'll just rip,” replied Wesley
graphically. “But if she wants to
leave the raising of her girl to the
neighbors she needn't get fractious if
they take some pride in doing a good
Job. From now on I calculate Elnora
shall go to school, and she shall have
all the clothes and books she needs, if
I go around on the back of Kate Com-
stock's land and cut a tree or drive off
a calf to pay for them. Why 1 know
one tree she owns that would put El-
nora in heaven for a year. Just think
of it, Margaret! It's not fair. One-
third of what is there belongs to El-
nora by law, and if Kate Comstock
raises a row I'll tell her so and see
that the girl gets it. You go to see
Kate in the morning, and I'll go with
you. Tell her you want Elnora's pat-
tern, that you are going to make her
a dress for helping us. And sort of
nint at a few more things. If Kate
balks I'll take a hand and settle her.
I'll go to law for Elnora’s share of that
and then she can take her share.”
“Why, Wesley Sinton. you're perfect
Iy wil "”
“I'm not! Did you ever stop to think
that such cases are so frequent there
have been laws made to provide for
them? I can bring it up in court and
force Kate to educate Elnora and
board and clothe her till she's of age,
and then she can take her own share.”
“Wesley, Kate would go crazy!"
“She's crazy now. The idea of any
mother living with as sweet a girl as
Elnora and letting her suffer till 1 find
ber crying like a funeral! It makes
me fighting mad!"
When Wesley came from the barn
Margaret had four pieces of crisp ging-
bam, z pale blue, a pink, a gray with
a.brown leather belt. In her hands she
held a wide brimmed tan straw hat
having a high crown banded with vel-
vet strips, each of which fastened with
a tiny gold Luckle.
“It looks kind of bare now,” she ex-
plained. “It had three quills on ft,
here. The price was two and a
for the hat, and those things were a
dollar and a dollar and a half apiece.
I couldn't pay that.”
“It does seem considerable,”
l
For a few moments there was a| “Don't risk it!" exclaimed Wesley |
babel of laughing voices explaining to = anxiously. “Don’t you risk it! Sew |
the delighted Margaret that school | them on right now!" i
dresses should be bright and pretty, “Open your bundles, while I get the
but simple and plain and until cold | thread.” said Margaret.
weather they should wash. i Wesley set out a pair of shoes. Mar-
“I'll tell you," said Ellen Brownlee, garet took them up and pinched the
“my father owns this store. ! know leather and stroked them. |
all the clerks. ig gy “My, but they are pretty!” she cried.
muc
i e was a space for sandwiches, a,
| a flask for tea or milk, a beautiful lit-
“Well. sir” said Wesley. “?
something oday. You told me
that tin pall
£
Wesley opened the package and laid
a prown leather lunch box on the table.
porcelain box for cold meat or
chicken, another for salad, a glass
a lid which screwed on, held by
a ring in a corner, for custard or jelly,
knife, fork and spoen fastened in
holders and a place for a napkin,
argaret was almost crying over it.
“How I'd love to fll it she exclaim-
.
% it the first time just to show
Comstock what love is!” said
esley. “Get up early in the morning
make one of those dresses tomor-
. Can't you make a plain ging-
m dress in a day? [I'll pick a chick-
and you fry it and fix a little cus
for the cup. and do it up brown
on, Maggie, you do it!"
“1 never can,” said Margaret. “I am:
ow as the itch about sewing, and
are not going to be plain dresses
hen it comes to making them. There
re going to be edgings of plain green,
k and brown to the bias strips and
tucks and pleats about the hips. fancy
belts and collars, and all of it takes
time.”
“Then Kate Comstock’s got to help.”
said Wesley. “Can the two of you
make one and get that lupen tomor:
row?"
“Easy, but she'll never do it!"
“You sce if she doesn’t!” said Wesley.
“You get up and ent it out, and soon as
Elnora Is gone I'll go after Kate my-
self. She'll take what I'll say better
alone. But she'll come. and she'll help
dake the dress. These other things
are our Christmas gifts to Elnora.
She'll no doubt need them more now
than she will then, and we can give
them just as well. That's yours, and
this is mine, or whichever way you
choose.”
Wesley untied a good brown umbrel-
Ia and shook out the folds of a long
| brown raincoat. Margaret dropped the !
hat, arose and took the coat, She tried |
it on, felt it, cooed over it and matched |
it with the umbrella. i
“Did it look anything like rain to- |
night?” she inquired so anxiously that
Wesley laughed, |
“And this last bundle?’ she said, !
dropping back In her chair, the coat
still over her shoulders.
“l couldn't buy this much stuff for
any other woman and nothing for my
own,” sald Wesley. “It's Christmas
for you, too, Margaret!” He shook out
fold after fold of soft gray satiny goods
that would look lovely against Marga-
ret’s pink cheeks and whitening hair,
“Oh, you old darling!” she exclaimed
and fled sobbing into his arms, i
At 4 o'clock next morning Elnora was
shelling beans. At 6 she fed chickens
and pigs, swept two of the rooms of |
the cabin, built a fire and put on the
kettle for breakfast. Then she climbed
the narrow stairs to the attic she had
occupied since a very small child and |
dressed in the hated shoes and brown |
calico, plastered down her crisp curls, |
ate what breakfast she could and, pin- |
ning on her hat, started for town. i
“There is no sense in your going for |
an hour yet,” said ber mother.
“1 must try to discover some way to
earn those books,” replied Elnora. “1
am perfectly positive 1 shall not find
them lying along the road wrapped in
tissue paper and tagged with my
name."
She went toward the city as on yes-
terday. Her perplexity as to where
tuition and books were to come from
was worse, but she did not feel quite
80 badly. She never again would have
to face all of it for the first time. She
den or to drop dead, and neither
bappened. “I guess the best
get an answer to prayer is to work
it.” muttered Elnora grimly.
In an Onabasha book store she -
ed the prices of the !ist of books that
she needed and learned that $6 would
not quite supply them. She anxiously
inquired for second band books, but
was told that the only way to secure
them was from the last year's fresh-
“Do you wish these?" asked the clerk
hurriedly, for the store was rapidly
filling with school children wanting
anything from a dictionary to a pen.
“Yes.” gasped Elrvora, “oh, yes! But
ER
:
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they are what she would wang”
“Well, you had better see her,” said
the cashier. “Do you know where she
lives?
She had nine minutes te peach the
auditorium or be late. Should she go.
to school or to the Bird Woman? Sev:
eral girls passed her walking swiftly
and she remembered their faces. They
were hurrying to school. Elnora caught
smiled and spoke to her. :
“1 have been watching for you,” he
said, and Elnora stopped. bewildered.
“For me?" she questioned.
“Yes,” said Professor Henley. “Step
inside.”
Elnora followed him into the room.
and he swung the door behind them.
“At teachers’ meeting last evening
one of the professors mentioned that
a pupil had betrayed in class that she
had expected her books to he furnish-
ed by the city. | thought possibly it
was you. Was it™
“Yes,” breathed Elnora !
“That being the case.” sald Pro-
fessor Henley. “it just occurred to me
as you had expected that von might |
require a little time to secure them, |
and you are too fine a mathematician |
to fall behind for want of supplies. |
So 1 telephoned one of our sopho-
mores to bring her last year's books
this morning. 1 am sorry to say they
are somewhat abused, but the text is
all bere. You can have them for $2
and pay when you get ready. Would
you care to take them?"
Elnora sat suddenly, because she
could not stand another instant. She
reached both hands for the books and
said never a word. The professor
was silent also.
At last Elnora arose, hugging those
books to her heart as a mother grasps
| a lost baby.
{ “One thing more,” said the professor.
| “You can pay your tuition quarterly.
. You peed not bother about the first
, Instaliment this month. Any time in
| October will do.”
So Elnora entered the auditorium a
second time. Her face was like the
_ brightest dawn that ever broke over
, the Limberlost. No matter about the
[Continued on page 7, Col. 1.]
Hood's Sars porilla.
Rheumatism
WILL LET GO OF YOU
Family Favorite Qil
Your dealer gots it in barrels direct
Dey Goods, Ete
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Yeager’s Shoe Store
Fitzezy
The
Ladies’ Shoe
that
Cures Corns
Sold only at
Yeager’s Shoe Store,
Bush Arcade Building, BELLEFONTE, PA.
r
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