Sinton had told the girls in the store. She stopped in dismay. Elnora's
face paled a trifle, but she smiled bravely.

"Then I'm fortunate in having a mother," she said.

Mr. Brownlee lingered at the table after the girls had excused
themselves and returned to school.

"There's a girl Ellen can't see too much of, in my opinion," he said.
"She is every inch a lady, and not a foolish notion or action about her.
I can't understand just what combination of circumstances produced her
in this day."

"It has been an unusual case of repression, for one thing. She waits on
her elders and thinks before she speaks," said Mrs. Brownlee.

"She's mighty pretty. She looks so sound and wholesome, and she's neatly
dressed."

"Ellen says she was a fright the first two days. Long brown calico dress
almost touching the floor, and big, lumbering shoes. Those Sinton people
bought her clothes. Ellen was in the store, and the woman stopped her
crowd and asked them about their dresses. She said the girl was not
poor, but her mother was selfish and didn't care for her. But Elnora
showed a bank book the next day, and declared that she paid for the
things herself, so the Sinton people must just have selected them.
There's something peculiar about it, but nothing wrong I am sure. I'll
encourage Ellen to ask her again."

"I should say so, especially if she is going to keep on giving away her