She had told how
Elizabeth arrived wearing a belt with two pistols, and this gave Elizabeth
standing at once among all the people in the store. A girl who could
shoot, and who wore pistols in a belt like a real cowboy, had a social
distinction all her own.
The novel-reading, theatre-going girls rallied around her to a girl; and
the young men in the store were not far behind. Elizabeth was popular from
the first. Moreover, as she settled down into the routine of life, and
had three meals every day, her cheeks began to round out just a little;
and it became apparent that she was unusually beautiful in spite of her
dark skin, which whitened gradually under the electric light and
high-pressure life of the store.
They went to Christian Endeavor, Elizabeth and her cousin; and Elizabeth
felt as if heaven had suddenly dropped down about her. She lived from week
to week for that Christian Endeavor.
The store, which had been a surprise and a novelty at first, began to be a
trial to her. It wore upon her nerves. The air was bad, and the crowds
were great. It was coming on toward Christmas time, and the store was
crammed to bursting day after day and night after night, for they kept
open evenings now until Christmas. Elizabeth longed for a breath from the
mountains, and grew whiter and thinner. Sometimes she felt as if she must
break away from it all, and take Robin, and ride into the wilderness
again. If it were not for the Christian Endeavor, she would have done so,
perhaps.
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