The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-17
CHAPTER VI

For c moment, Beatrice Hunting ton Davenport could only stare at thls slim, strange girl with the dark chestnut hair and the eagerly help full eyes. She felt an insane impulse to giggle. Imagine her leading me into the personnel office at the stprel Asking them to give me a jobl They'd recognize me imme- diately"
 But then dizzily. she thought Recognize me? Would they? Who has ever seen me at that store. Only the French vendeuse in the Import Salon. And one or two mo- dels who have tried on numbers for
 It seemed incredible, but as she searched her mind, she realized that 1t was true. Outside of Mile. Mathilde, with her thin sallow face and her animated hands, there was no one in the entire eight floors of Huntington's who, meet ing her on the street, could say positively, "There's Miss Daven- port" Even the general superin- tendent, at whose pictured face she had looked this morning, had never seen her.
 She went back to the last time she'd been in the store. She remembered walking from the car through the street floor, getting into the elevator. She'd worn her silver fox greatcoat, but there'd been another customer in the ele- vator in silver fox, too.
 On the fifth floor. in the salon, there'd been | discreet fiutter because Mile. Mathilde had whis- pered Miss Davenport is here" But Mile. Mathilde knew Beatrice liked to select In privacy and had tGctfully blocked off cream-satin nook with screen. There, tall, sinking mannequins had wan dered in and out, displaying the latest in black with silver, which was what Beatrice fancied for the Thurmans' party.
 Mile. Mathilde had murmured fin h.r ear. Tres chic. You will enjoy this!' and Exquisite. It will T.. ravishing on you!"
 Tho girl she had met in the subway was asking curiously, What's the matter? Don't you like the idea of Huntington's?"
 I've never sold anything" Bea- trice said warily. T - I'm a - a stencgrapher, really"
 Don't fret" said the girl. We have lovely training depart- ment. Whether you've ever sold anything or not, Huningtons makes you take the training course. They make you come in at. 8 o'clock and you don't get paid extra. either so you can have 45 minutes before the store opens, listening to the Hunting ton notions on store service"
 T sec
 "If you've never worked in an- other store, then you have nothing to uniearn. Because, let me tell you right now Huntington's has their own way of doing things"
 They were on Fulton street now. Neon lights glittered red, blue aIlu BECeI' DeutllCc odW IiC oiBAiS VI Chinese restaurants, dance halls, radio stores; the glittering canopy of movie palace; lighted display windows. Overhead an elevated train rumbled by. Fulton street was crowded. Cars and taxis made Q tangle traffic. Horns blared.
 She had never been here be- fore. They went into noisy cafe teria. A machine at the door yelped twice as the girl pulled as check for herself and one for Beatrice. She made her way knowingly, to a stack of traps; selected knife and fork and spoon from an open rack beside the trays. Beatrice watched and did the same.
 The long serving section was a revelation to Beatrice. You took your tray and slid 1t on the chromium bars past mounds of salads. At the coffee urns, you took one of the filled cups that stopped over a little as the at teidant pushed 1t toward you. There were piles of Danish pastry, doughnuts, cupcakes. So much food confused Beatrice. Weekly,