She did not draw
them back nor lift her eyes, but suddenly her dusky face grew scarlet,
and there was a nervous trembling of her lips that moved persistently in
an attempted study of the lesson. She had heard the words, as the girls
intended she should. They were speaking in Dakota without fear of being
understood by the white mother, who was in the playroom passing pennies
for the missionary plate.
The white mother heard the laugh and stepped into the space between the
sliding doors, which were ajar. She saw the girls' resentment at a
glance, and that it was directed at Cordelia Running Bird. She was
troubled, but could not combat the feeling that had spread throughout
the school, to mar the peace and quiet of the Sabbath, which these
Indian girls were wont to keep in reverent spirit.
"She has bought another pair of shoes for Susie--stockings, too--not
black ones, like the little schoolgirls have to wear for best, but very
stylish brown ones," Hannah Straight Tree said. "She put them in her
trunk last night. I crept upstairs and watched her, for the children
said she had them in her pocket. The large and middle-sized girls must
not see them till the entertainment, but the little girls keep saying
they are like the ones the little white visitor that wore the dress that
was pink dim-i-ty, had on.
Pages:
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50