For Gold or Soul?

by Lurana Sheldon

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  FAITH BECOMES AN OBJECT OF JEALOUSY.

  As Mr. Day opened the office door with the message in his hand, hehesitated for a moment, in something like bewilderment.

  Faith Marvin was standing before his partners with a paper in her hand,and just as he entered she was speaking eagerly. "We would be sothankful if you would do this, gentlemen--even for half a day, if youcannot spare a whole one. You see, poor Miss Jennings has no family,only a crippled brother, so we clerks are really her brothers andsisters. She was a dear, good girl; so patient and resigned. If we couldlay her in the grave ourselves it would be a sweet and solemn pleasure."

  She turned from one of the men to the other with her appealing glance,even including Mr. Day as he stood irresolute upon the threshold.

  Mr. Forbes was the first to recover his voice. The girl's appearance andthe petition had made them both dumb for a minute.

  "It can't be done, Miss Marvin," he said, curtly. "It would beestablishing a precedent; isn't it so, Mr. Denton?"

  "But surely, Mr. Forbes, such a precedent would do no harm!" cried Faithquickly. "Poor Mary is the first clerk who has died in the store, youknow. It isn't at all likely that there will be any others."

  Mr. Forbes stared at her curiously. He was not exactly angry. As shestood supplicatingly before him, she was radiantly beautiful.

  "Why not have it in the evening?" suggested Mr. Denton. He had found hisvoice at last, and came to the superintendent's rescue.

  "The girls are so tired at night," said Faith, sighing. "I thought ofthat--but it did not seem advisable."

  "We might arrange for a few of you to be away on that day. Surely, youwere not all Miss Jennings' friends; there is no excuse for the wholestore going into mourning."

  Mr. Forbes spoke decidedly and with a little of his old crustiness. Thespell of the girl's magnetism was beginning to leave him.

  "That would mean extra work for the clerks who remained," was Faith'sdesperate answer, "and poor Mary would be the first to object to that.Their duties are hard enough now. Oh, no, sir; I am sure that would notbe thought of for a minute. If there is work to be done, we will allstay and do it, but if you only would relieve us for a few hours, wewould be deeply grateful."

  "It wouldn't do at all, Mr. Forbes!"

  Mr. Day spoke, if anything, more pompously than ever. "Pardon me, but wehave lost one day this week. We can't afford another."

  "That settles it," said the superintendent, wheeling around in hischair. "You will please return to your duties, Miss Marvin; we cannotallow your petition."

  Faith walked slowly from the office with the tears springing to hereyes. Before she reached the ribbon counter a floor walker stepped up toher. She had never seen him before, but recognized him at once as theMr. Gunning whom she had heard the girls say belonged in thatdepartment, but was away just then upon a short vacation.

  "You have been gone more than fifteen minutes, No. 411," he said,sharply. "Hurry over to your counter; Miss Fairbanks wishes to see you."

  Faith looked at him timidly. He was a silly looking young man who wore aflaming red necktie and curled the ends of his mustache.

  "Another tyrant," thought Faith, but she only bowed respectfully.Already in her short term of service she was getting used to tyrants.

  "I am going to put you in Miss Jennings' place for a day or two," wasthe buyer's greeting. "I am short of girls, so you will have to do. MissJones will tell you what you don't know about the stock, and I hopeyou'll be very careful in your measurement of the ribbon."

  "I will do my best," said Faith, very sadly. She was soon standingbehind the counter, a full-fledged saleswoman. For some reason there hadbeen nothing said about the half day that she had lost, but Faith knewonly too well that she would be heavily fined for her absence. Still, itwas better than being discharged. She accepted the alternativethankfully.

  If Bob Hardy was in the store he kept out of the ribbon department, forFaith looked around for him nervously several times, and was greatlyrelieved when she did not see him.

  Once she overheard two cash girls talking about the robbery in theoffice, and as they mentioned the name of Watkins she pausedinvoluntarily and listened.

  "They say he's got brain fever," said one of the girls. "Well, I'd thinkhe'd be crazy with all that's happened."

  "It must be awful," said the other girl. "Why, his brother was only akid, and, to think, he stole five hundred dollars!"

  Faith almost gasped for breath at this information.

  She tried to speak to the girl, but her lips and tongue seemed palsied.She understood now what poor Mr. Watkins had suffered, and to think shehad distrusted him--even for one brief second!

  Several times during the forenoon she saw Maggie Brady watching her, andthe hatred in her eyes was too plain for Faith not to see and understandthoroughly.

  Her first thought was to see Maggie and explain her conversation withJames Denton, but she thought better of it later, and decided to keepsilent. Miss Fairbanks was plainly upset and nervous. She scolded thegirls constantly, and seemed irritated beyond measure. Whether Mr.Gunning's presence was responsible for this nervousness Faith could nottell, but it was plain that the two were on bad terms with each other.

  On the other hand, Mr. Gunning had many friends in the department. MissJones smiled at him frequently, as did several of the others.

  Faith was standing erect behind her counter when a sharp-looking womancame up. She began asking to see ribbons of various widths and colors.Faith tried to wait upon her as rapidly as possible, but as she was notfamiliar with the stock, she got sadly muddled.

  "How long have you been here?" asked the woman suddenly.

  "Only about two hours at this counter," said Faith, sadly. "I am verysorry, but I am afraid I have not waited on you properly."

  "Do you mean that you are a new girl altogether?" asked the woman.

  Faith glanced up innocently, and saw both Miss Fairbanks and thefloorwalker scowling at her.

  As quick as their eyes met Miss Fairbanks made a signal. It was as plainas day. Faith was to answer no questions.

  The woman was looking at her with her shrewd, sharp eyes.

  "Well, why don't you answer?" she asked, half smilingly.

  "I was a packer for two days," said Faith very softly. She could see noreason why she should not answer the question.

  As the woman moved away from the counter every eye in the departmentfollowed her, and Faith noticed how alert all the girls were to waitupon her.

  As soon as she disappeared Miss Fairbanks rushed up to Faith.

  "What did she ask you?" she questioned breathlessly; "and what did youtell her?"

  Faith repeated the conversation in open-eyed wonder. When she hadfinished Miss Fairbanks breathed a sigh of relief, but her face wasstill clouded. "I guess they won't blame me for putting in a greengirl," she said slowly. "Anyway, there was no one else. I'm awfullyshort-handed as it is."

  "We ain't to blame if they don't give us help enough," remarked Mr.Gunning, savagely. "This firm is too stingy to keep a full force ofclerks. Still, if one of them is sick or dies, there's always a rowabout changes."

  "Well, if she feels like it, she'll report, and that will meantrouble," said Miss Fairbanks, sighing; "but perhaps she won't. Thereare some good-hearted ones among them."

  "Who was she?" asked Faith as soon as she got the opportunity.

  "Only one of Denton, Day & Co.'s spies," was the answer. "They arebetter known in the business as 'Private Shoppers.'"

  Faith looked aghast at this information.

  "Didn't you ever hear of them before?" asked Miss Jones, coming up."Why, every store has them; they are a part of the system."

  "Do explain!" cried Faith; "I am still in the dark. Do you mean thatthat woman was a regular detective?"

  "Oh, Lord, no; she wasn't a detective at all! She's a spy, I tell you,the genuine article! Her principal work is to trot around in otherstores and learn all she can about their
'specials' and prices, and getall the information possible in order to keep her employers posted onwhat their rivals are doing, and besides that she is expected to prowlaround this store at irregular intervals, and we are not supposed toknow that she isn't a legitimate customer. She asks questions and pumpsand finds out all we know; then she makes us take down all our goods andput them all back, just to see if we are in the habit of keeping ourtempers. Oh, she can make life miserable for us if she chooses! A bit ofindifference on our part, and up a report goes, straight to thesuperintendent, and we get bally-hoo from the buyer shortly after! Itell you, we've got to be saints to keep our jobs in this place, butonce in awhile, when we get the chance we let out on some safeparty--that's the way we square ourselves. We can't always be angels."

  "I've got a lot to learn," said Faith with a sigh, "but I shall alwaysbe civil and attentive to my customers, so I don't think I shall havemuch to fear from that particular direction." At just that moment amessenger boy came along the aisle. He had come from outside, and waslooking for some one.

  "Who is it? What do you want?" asked Mr. Gunning, going forward.

  "Miss Faith Marvin," said the boy, loudly. "I have a package for her."

  Faith looked up in surprise, as she heard the words. She signed theboy's ticket automatically, and accepted the package.

  As she did so, a card dropped from under the cord with which it wastied.

  Maggie Brady, who was watching her closely, sprang forward and snatchedit up in an instant. As she laid it on the counter she fairly trembledwith rage.

  She had read the words which were written on the card.

  They were simply: "To Miss Marvin, with the compliments of Jas. T.Denton."