Page:A Girl of the Limberlost.djvu/232

214 on a platform in the sight of hundreds of people; but that was impossible, for she realized that she would have scoffed and not understood if she had been told. Her heart pained until she suffered acute agony with every breath. When at last the exercises were over she climbed into the carriage and rode home without a word. She did not hear what Margaret and Billy were saying. She scarcely heard Sinton, who drove behind, when he told her that Elnora would not be home until Wednesday. Early the next morning Mrs. Comstock was on her way to Onabasha. She was waiting when the Brownlee store opened. She examined ready-made white dresses, but they had only one of the right size, and it was marked forty dollars. Mrs. Comstock did not hesitate over the price, but whether the dress would be suitable. She would have to ask Elnora. She inquired her way to the home of the Bird Woman and knocked. "Is Elnora Comstock here?" she asked the maid. "Yes, but she is still in bed. I was told to let her sleep as long as she would." "Maybe I could sit here and wait," said Mrs. Comstock. "I want to see about getting her a dress for tomorrow. I am her mother."

"Then you don't need wait or worry," said the girl cheerfully. "There are two women up in the sewing room at work on a dress for her right now. It will be done in time, and it will be a beauty." Mrs. Comstock turned and trudged back to the Limberlost. The bitterness in her soul became a physical