Page:A Girl of the Limberlost.djvu/79

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THE SINTONS ARE DISAPPOINTED
61

you, and here you are! It's too perfectly splendid to be true!"

"Tell us, Elnora," said Sinton.

"Well, sir," said Elnora, doubling down on the floor and spreading out her skirt, "set the bucket here, mother. These points are brittle and have to be put in one at a time. If they are chipped I can't sell them. Well, sir! I've had a time! You know I just had to have books. I tried three stores, and they wouldn't trust me, not even three days; I didn't know what in this world I could do quickly enough. Just when I was about frantic I saw a sign in a bank window asking for caterpillars, cocoons, butterflies, arrow points, and everything. I went in, and it was this Bird Woman wants the insects, and the banker wants the stones. I had to go to school then, but, if you'll believe it"—Elnora beamed on all of them in turn as she talked and slipped the arrow points from her dress to the pail—"if you'll believe it—but you won't, hardly, until you look at the books—there was the mathematics teacher, waiting at his door, and he had a set of books for me that he had telephoned a Sophomore to bring.

"How did he happen to do that, Elnora?" interrupted Sinton.

Elnora blushed.

"It was a fool mistake I made yesterday in thinking books were just handed out to you. There was a teachers' meeting last night and the history teacher told about that. Professor Henley thought it was me. You know I told you what he said about my algebra, mother. Ain't I