particular
bargain sale, and there were reasons why he should understand with
peculiar acuteness the humiliation she had been doomed to endure. His
presence on the scene would make matters worse, and he had obliterated
himself as much as possible.

Nevertheless he saw all that went on in that direction, and the sudden
and remarkable change which took place immediately after the tall
English girl's arrival amazed him. He did not know what to make of it,
but it was so evidently a change for the better, and the time before
the sale was so short, that he decided to sink conventions and let the
saleswomen alone.

The floorwalker had plenty of other things to keep him busy, but his
subself eyed the strenuous, mysterious preparations for the coming
two-hour sale of blouses, sashes, and ladies' fancy neckwear. Five
minutes ago the unfortunate stock (which finished the latest chapter
of Stein-Horrocks-Westlake-Thorpe inner history) had laid in neglected
heaps on the four counters which walled in the hollow square. Miss
Stein and her five companions had confined their energies to examining
labels, and that in a perfunctory manner, a mere cloak for feverish
whisperings. The sale was doomed to failure--had been doomed from the
moment that Mr. Horrocks, the manager of the department (who was also
a sub-buyer), had "dumped" a disastrous purchase from a bankrupt sale
onto the girl whom every one knew he had jilted for Miss Westlake.
There was far more in it than that; an intricate intrigue of shop
life. But so much at least was common property in the department; and
the elevation of Miss Westlake, the humiliation of Miss Stein, could
be seen by all, for Miss Westlake close by was selling the most
entrancing new fichus which had begun the day with a _succes fou_.

No use advising Miss Stein to buck up and do her best. Anything Fred
Thorpe could say on the subject would be bitterly misconstrued. He
realized that her conception of the part to play was to make the worst
of things instead of the best and snatch what satisfaction she could
from a flare-up. That was what Horrocks wanted, of course, but she was
past caring, or so it seemed until the sudden change took place after
the appearance of the new girl.

Soon Thorpe began to understand the scheme. With an eye for colour and
a swiftness of touch that was almost incredible, unsympathetic blouses
were changed into daring yet dainty "confections." As fast as the
girls finished drapi