Meantime Elizabeth had been going over the old woman's wardrobe which was
scanty and coarse, and selecting garments from her own baggage that would
do for the journey.
The old woman looked glorified as she touched the delicate white garments
with their embroidery and ribbons:
"Oh, dear child! Why, I couldn't wear a thing like that on my old worn-out
body. Those look like angels' clothes." She put a work-worn finger on the
delicate tracery of embroidery and smoothed a pink satin ribbon bow.
But Elizabeth overruled her. It was nothing but a plain little garment
she had bought for the trip. If the friend thought it was pretty she was
glad, but nothing was too pretty for the woman who had taken her in in her
distress and tried to help her and keep her safe.
The invalid was thin with her illness, and it was found that she could
easily wear the girl's simple dress of dark blue with a white collar, and
little dark hat, and Elizabeth donned a khaki skirt and brown cap and
sweater herself and gladly arrayed her old friend in her own bridal
travelling gown for her journey. She had not brought a lot of things for
her journey because she did not want to be bothered, but she could easily
get more when she got to a large city, and what was money for but to cloth
the naked and feed the hungry? She rejoiced in her ability to help this
woman of the wilderness.
On the third day, garbed in Elizabeth's clothes, her husband fitted out
for the east in some of George Benedict's extra things, they started.
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