Now she felt like a big girl
herself. This wonderful doll raised her at once to a position of
importance. There she stood in the corner by the window, and proudly
held it. She wore a blue cotton dress cut after the fashion of Lily
Rosalie's, with a low neck and short sleeves, displaying her dimpled
childish neck and arms. Her round cheeks were flushed with a softer pink
than the doll's, and her honest brown eyes were full of delight.
One and another of the girls begged for the privilege of taking the doll
a moment for a closer scrutiny, and Sarah Jane would grant it, and then
watch them with thinly veiled anxiety. Suppose their fingers shouldn't
be quite clean, and there should be a spot on Lily Rosalie's beautiful
white linen skin! One of the girls rubbed her cheeks to see if the red
would come off, and Sarah Jane wriggled.
Joe West was one of the big boys who had joined the group. Years after,
he was Joseph B. West, an eminent city lawyer. Years after that, he was
Judge West of the Superior Court. Now he was simply Joe West, a tall,
lanky boy with a long rosy face and a high forehead. His arms came too
far through his jacket sleeves, and showed his wrists, which looked
unnaturally knobby and bony. He went barefoot all summer long, and was
much given to chewing sassafras.
He offered a piece to Sarah Jane now, extracting it with gravity from a
mass of chalk, top strings, buttons, nails, and other wealth with which
his pocket was filled.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112