Evening star., 1925-11-15
II
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coming
It was a wonderfully sweet voice.
and solemn. But there was the flavor
of a laugh hidden in the mock solem-
nifty. That was a trick of Joanna s.
She had adopted 1t from some one.
Joanna adopted all tricks Of manner
that promised to be successful addi-
tons to her own original store of
them.
Obediently, the young women who
fianked Joanna behind the silk coun-
ter, a bevy of sheer, sinuous young
persons made in variations OF the IN
congruous pattern of the day, dabbed
their noses, softened the craftiness In
their too.wise eyes, and shaped smiles
about their grotesquely scarlet lips.
It was each days preparation for
what was a daily ceremony-the 10
o'clock visit to the silk counter OF
Good Morning
Good Morning" it may be eX-
planned, was, in a more definite way,
Mr.. Leroy Hardness. an imposing gen
tleman of sleek grooming, risen to the
dignity of long-tailed coat, and tre-
mendously impressed by his respon-
sibiIities as arbiter of the world S
events, and, incidentally. the auto
cratic buyer who rules the destinies
of the silk department. Promptly at
10 o'clock each mornins-the store
opened at 9-Mr HarkneSS, freshly
magnificert, tapped his fingers on the
spread of the silk counter, encom-
passed each of the young women be-
hind it with a friendly, condescending
glance, and said to them collectively:
Good morning."
There was much rivalry among the
.eryitors of satin as to which Of them
first would see Good Morning" down
the aisle and announce his coming.
And IT, by any chance. Mr.. Good
Mornings" eyes rested a little longer
on one rouged face than on another
among his silk counter nymphs, why,
there was a full days scandal ahead.
It happened often: too often. Joan
ma herself had been bothered a bit,
of late, because Good Morning" lad
fallen into the habit of looking at her
more and more speculatively. The
morning before she had decided she
could not ignore that meaningful look
in the buyers eyes any longer, and
had tilted her chin at him. She was
prepared to do it again.
But, strangely, Good Morning
was not approaching in his usual Ian
Kuidly ma jestic manner. His express
sion was stern, as if he carried new
matters of importance. He didn't stop
at the next counter, but came right
along.
Good Lord" exclaimed the young
person on Joanna's right. He has
n crouch. Somebody's in for it!'
Joanna struck her pose. Joanna had
many poses. one for every circum-
stance. For Good Morning" she had
rehearsed a way of elevating her chin,
putting one hand to the back of her
head SO that her elbow and forearm
would show off well. and fixing the
other on her hip. The effect in her
mirror had been extremely satistac-
tory. But her hand fell from her hair
and the one at her hip Topped down
suddenly
Mr.. Hardness had no good morning
for any of them. He walked directly
70 where Joanna. stood and stopped,
abruptly facing her. There was
neither snirk nor smile in his half
closed eyes. Once he had interrupted
an unfortunate shoplifter, and had
looked at the trembling young woman
in just that manner.
miss Joanna" he said, his words
sharp and evenly cold, have the good
ness to go at once to Mr.. Graydon' S
office. You are to be spoken to by
Mr.. Graydon himself. At once, II you
please"
hnl ind
the silk counter unnoticed. Eyes
stared. Blank faces turned upon the
startled girl. And she stared into the
fatuous face of the man across the
counter as If ne had woven her in
some evil spell.
Mr.. Hardness was no longer Mr..
Cool Morning." He was an ogre; the
serf of a tyrant and bearer of "a
tyrant's summons. He stood there.
cold, immovable. piercing. Waiting:
waiting for Joanna, Joanna of the
gold brown hair, that had watched
him on other mornings, to hurry away
at this unheard-of bidding
For, so far as the record was re-
membered at the silk counter, no
other girl employe had been sum-
moned into the awful presence of the
.'Old Man 1t augured but one thing.
That thing shaped itself in Joanna s
mind almost instantly. She had Of
Tended a customer: unconsciously,
perhaps, but offended one; and an inn
portant customer: one who had the
ear Of the mysterious. unapproach,
able. thoroughly unknown "Old Man.
And that meant dismissal,
The buyers fingers began to drum
Warningly on the counter. A sum-
mons to the office brooked no delays.
He didn't know what the summons
was about. nor why. nor how the Old
Man so much as knew the name of
the unimportant Joanna. who. despite
that gold brown hair and the Captivat-
ing poses, was, after all, only NO.
II in the silks" Graydon, owner of
the city's largest department store,
was not the sort who knew certain
ones of his hundreds Of young woman
clerks by name A few of the man.
ayers were that sort: not Graydon.
"I believe | said at once. Miss
Twen.y-seven," Mr.. Hardness repeat
ed, icily 81 should advise that you
interpret that as meaning now" y
And then he added the aftersting that
brought quiver to the grotesquely
scarlet lips: the culver that the girl
bit at 1nd repulsed viciously: Il fancy.
miss. that the other young ladies will
conduct the counter satisfactorily un-
til you return from your interview.
Joanna could have choked him for
that. Even in her trouble she re-
membered the different tone Of him
li1h in n