Canadian fiction -- 20th century; Detective and mystery stories
At noon she took up her stand in front of the notion counter at
Douglas' with a fast beating heart. Outside the store she had sought
to dismiss her car, saying she didn't know how long she'd be, but the
chauffeur had replied that he'd find a place to park nearby and would
wait as long as she liked. Had he too, been instructed not to lose
her? Inside the store she would not look, but she was horribly
conscious that the burly spy was somewhere across the aisle pretending
to examine silver articles. Watched or not, she had to keep her
appointment. If the girl obeyed instructions all might yet be well.
There would be nothing strange in her meeting a girl friend in a
department store. But probably she would not look like a friend.
Nevertheless, Pen's great fear was that the girl would not come at all.
She already felt flat and despairing in prospect.
Pen could not appear to be looking for anybody. With sightless eyes
she inspected the stock of notions. There were scores of little
baskets displaying pins, hair-pins, fasteners, tapes, hair-nets, all
the multitudinous contrivances with which women keep themselves
together. It is the busiest counter in a department store. Perspiring
women elbowed her on either hand. An exasperated voice said at her
shoulder:
"If you don't want anything here would you kindly give me room!"
Pen in a daze, gave way. She was saying to herself: "She'll never
come. It was a wild scheme. You're only wasting your time..."
Suddenly a high-pitched, metallic voice beside her exclaimed: "Well of
all people! How are you?"
Pen jumped as if the last thing in the world she expected was to be
addressed. Half a dozen women turned around. Pen seemed to shrivel
under their glances. But the other girl carried it off well. She was
talking continually. Pen got a flash of hard, bright black eyes and a
brilliant tight smile. It disconcerted her. She had expected--well,
some sort of a pathetic figure. These eyes expressed an infinite
sophistication that seemed to open a gulf between them.
Pen's lapse was but momentary. Out of the tail of her eye she saw a
burly figure pushing across the aisle, and the emergency nerved her.
With an automatic reflection of the other girl's manner she began to
talk back:
"Upon my word! Who would ever have expected to find you here?"
Without changing her smile she murmured: "We're watched. He's coming
this way."
The other girl's eyes signaled: "I get you!" She said loudly: "How are
all the folks?"
"Much the same as usual," said Pen.
The burly one brushed by, his foolish eyes looking everywhere but at
them, his mouth pursed up to whistle.
When he had gone by, "Bull," murmured the black-eyed girl out of the
corner of her mouth. "Pure-bred Jersey." Aloud she said vivaciously:
"You must tell me all about everybody. Let's get out of this jam."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account