the young Sioux girl the
sleigh-bells seemed to jingle harshly, and the gumbo hills, whose tops
were bare of snow, seemed frowning blackly from across the river.

Cordelia Running Bird passed some peppermints to the children, which
awoke a burst of gratitude.

"We little girls shall always choose Susie in the games," said one.

"Yes," exclaimed another, "Hannah Straight Tree and the dormitory girls
have told us not to, but we shall."

"Ee! Talk lower so the teacher will not hear you," said Cordelia, with
a sudden flutter of the breath. "You must choose Dolly half the time--
if Susie plays."

"She is too bad-looking," said a third. "Susie has two pairs of pretty
shoes, and two nice dresses, and we like her better."

"But you must not talk that way before the larger girls," Cordelia
cautioned in an undertone. "Doily has a new hair ribbon like the red
one I have bought for Susie--both are in my lap. And I have bought a
pink one for Lucinda. I wish to do them good--Hannah Straight Tree,
too. You must tell the larger girls you like Dolly just as well as
Susie. If they wear alike ribbons on their braids it will be nice."

"A new ribbon cannot dress Dolly up," remarked the prudent little girl.
"The points of her hairs will look like Susie's points, and that is
all."

CHAPTER V.

Sunday morning there was wonder in the school to see Cordelia Running
Bird in the heavy government shoes that had been lying in her cupboard
since the distribution of the clothing early in the fall. And when it
was observed that she had dressed for Sunday-school and had not changed
the shoes the wonder grew to pure amazement.

"Ee! What ails the vainest girl in South Dakota? She will now be
wearing issue shoes to Sunday-school!" exclaimed a dormitory girl, among
a group of large and middle-sized pupils gathered in the music room,
adjoining the playroom, in Sunday-school attire.

Cordelia sat in a corner with her eyes upon her Sunday-school lesson.
Her feet were planted side by side as if with studied care.

"Just like she is very scared because the large and middle-sized girls
do not speak to her since yesterday. She is not sorry, only scared,"
said Hannah Straight Tree. "See, she sticks her feet out very far, so
we will see the shoes and think she is not vain; but we will not believe
her. She has found the dustpan, too, because she is so scared of me.
She bragged so much she made me cross, so I told her she must find i