Faith glanced up innocently, and saw both Miss Fairbanks and the floorwalker scowling at her. As quick as their eyes met Miss Fairbanks made a signal. It was as plain as 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 no reason why she should not answer the question. As the woman moved away from the counter every eye in the department followed her, and Faith noticed how alert all the girls were to wait upon her. As soon as she disappeared Miss Fairbanks rushed up to Faith. "What did she ask you?" she questioned breathlessly; "and what did you tell her?" Faith repeated the conversation in open-eyed wonder. When she had finished Miss Fairbanks breathed a sigh of relief, but her face was still clouded. "I guess they won't blame me for putting in a green girl," she said slowly. "Anyway, there was no one else. I'm awfully short-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 of clerks. Still, if one of them is sick or dies, there's always a row about changes." "Well, if she feels like it, she'll report, and that will mean trouble," said Miss Fairbanks, sighing; "but perhaps she won't. There are 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 are better 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 that that 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 other stores and learn all she can about their 'specials' and prices, and get all the information possible in order to keep her employers posted on what their rivals are doing, and besides that she is expected to prowl around this store at irregular intervals, and we are not supposed to know that she isn't a legitimate customer. She asks questions and pumps and finds out all we know; then she makes us take down all our goods and put them all back, just to see if we are in the habit of keeping our tempers. Oh, she can make life miserable for us if she chooses! A bit of indifference on our part, and up a report goes, straight to the superintendent, and we get bally-hoo from the buyer shortly after! I tell you, we've got to be saints to keep our jobs in this place, but once in awhile, when we get the chance we let out on some safe party--that's the way we square ourselves. We can't always be angels."