re because of knowing him, and
that, regretting the snub delivered at parting, she had hoped he might
some day find her in the Hands.

"I just can't bear it," she said to herself. "I'll have to pretend to
be ill, and get permission from Mr. Thorpe to leave the floor
again--to go to the hospital room--anything to get away."

But--wouldn't that be like the ostrich hiding its head in the sand?
Evidently Lord Raygan and Lady Eileen were being shown things. If they
hadn't been there already they would be sure to take a peep into the
hospital as well as the rest room. Not the restaurant perhaps! If Mr.
Rolls junior and his sister had any idea what that was like, they
would avoid it with their distinguished guests. Still, even there one
would not be safe. The only sure escape would be to go home, and she
would have to look very ill indeed before she could obtain leave of
absence for the rest of the day.

Wondering what on earth was to be done, Win suddenly recalled the
look in Ena Rolls's eyes, which had said as plainly as spoken words:
"For heaven's sake get me out of this scrape, and do or say something
to put Lord Raygan off dragging me with him to your horrid old blouse
department."

"She won't let them come!" Win told herself. "Somehow she'll prevent
it. I'll stick to my guns."

So she went back to her place as if nothing had happened and returned
to Mr. Thorpe the permit he, as aisle manager, had given her to leave
her duties and go off the floor on which they were carried out. It was
a small paper slip signed by him, and Thorpe would have been
responsible had she outstayed the time asked for. But she was safely
within it, and she had herself well enough in hand, after her
adventure, to answer his kind, sad smile with gratitude.

"What will Miss Rolls do to stop Lord Raygan from wanting to come--and
from saying anything about me to the others?" she wondered. She could
not guess. Yet she grew more and more confident of Ena's finesse as
the long afternoon wore on.

What Miss Rolls did was very simple, if you had the clue. But the clue
was what Win lacked.

"I thought we were due to meet Eily and Rolls about this time, and
look at those wonderful pearls your father says he gets straight from
the fisheries," Rags reminded Ena when the elevator dropped to the
basement and began to bound up again.

"So we are," she admitted, "but there's something I _must_ tell you
before we see Petro. That's why I made the excuse