advanced. Yet Zora would take no money from Bles, and worked earnestly away.
Meantime there occurred to the boy the momentous question of clothes. Had Zora thought of them? He feared not. She knew little of clothes and cared less. So one day in town he dropped into Caldwell‚Äôs ‚ÄúEmporium‚Äù and glanced hesitantly at certain ready-made dresses. One caught his eye. It came from the great Easterly mills in New England and was red‚ÅÝ‚Äîa vivid red. The glowing warmth of this cloth of cotton caught the eye of Bles, and he bought the gown for a dollar and a half.
He carried it to Zora in the wood, and unrolled it before her eyes that danced with glad tears. Of course, it was long and wide; but he fetched needle and thread and scissors, too. It was a full month after school had begun when they, together back in the swamp, shadowed by the foliage, began to fashion the wonderful garment. At the same time she laid ten dollars of her first hard-earned money in his hands.