Then he unlocked the case again, and replaced the
money, laid the note upon it, and went back to concealment,
where he remained until Elnora came down the trail
in the morning, appearing very lovely in her new dress
and hat.
WHEREIN ELNORA RECEIVES A WARNING, AND BILLY APPEARS ON THE SCENE
It would be difficult to describe how happy Elnora
was that morning as she hurried through her work,
bathed and put on the neat, dainty gingham dress,
and the tan shoes. She had a struggle with her
hair. It crinkled, billowed, and shone, and she
could not avoid seeing the becoming frame it made
around her face. But in deference to her mother’s
feelings the girl set her teeth, and bound her hair
closely to her head with a shoe-string. “Not
to be changed at the case,” she told herself.
That her mother was watching she was unaware.
Just as she picked up the beautiful brown ribbon Mrs.
Comstock spoke.
“You had better let me tie that. You can’t
reach behind yourself and do it right.”
Elnora gave a little gasp. Her mother never before
had proposed to do anything for the girl that by any
possibility she could do herself. Her heart quaked
at the thought of how her mother would arrange that
bow, but Elnora dared not refuse. The offer was
too precious. It might never be made again.
“Oh thank you!” said the girl, and sitting
down she held out the ribbon.
Her mother stood back and looked at her critically.
“You haven’t got that like Mag Sinton
had it last night,” she announced. “You
little idiot! You’ve tried to plaster it
down to suit me, and you missed it. I liked it
away better as Mag fixed it, after I saw it. You
didn’t look so peeled.”
“Oh mother, mother!” laughed Elnora, with
a half sob in her voice.
“Hold still, will you?” cried Mrs. Comstock.
“You’ll be late, and I haven’t packed
your dinner yet.”
She untied the string and shook out the hair.
It rose with electricity and clung to her fingers
and hands. Mrs. Comstock jumped back as if bitten.
She knew that touch. Her face grew white, and
her eyes angry.
“Tie it yourself,” she said shortly, “and
then I’ll put on the ribbon. But roll it
back loose like Mag did. It looked so pretty that
way.”
Almost fainting Elnora stood before the glass, divided
off the front parts of her hair, and rolled them as
Mrs. Sinton had done; tied it at the nape of her neck,
then sat while her mother arranged the ribbon.
“If I pull it down till it comes tight in these
creases where she had it, it will be just right, won’t
it?” queried Mrs. Comstock, and the amazed Elnora
stammered,
“Yes.”
When she looked in the glass the bow was perfectly
tied, and how the gold tone of the brown did match
the lustre of the shining hair! “That’s
pretty,” commented Mrs. Comstock’s soul,
but her stiff lips had said all that could be forced
from them for once. Just then Wesley Sinton came
to the door.
