CHAPTER IIITAVIA IN THE SHADE
Mrs. Halbridge was slyly slipping through the crowd. She had suddenly lost all interest in the punishment of the girl she had accused of stealing her bag and her money.
There was something so stern about Mr. Schuman that it was not strange that the excitable woman should fear further discussion of the matter. The old gentleman turned at once to Dorothy Dale and Tavia Travers.
“This is an unfortunate and regrettable incident, young ladies,” he said suavely. “I assure you that such things as this seldom occur under our roof.”
“I am confident it is a single occurrence,” Dorothy said, with conviction, “or my aunt, Mrs. Winthrop White, of North Birchland, would not have traded with you for so many years.”
“One of our charge customers, Mr. Schuman,” whispered Mr. Mink, deciding it was quite time now to come to the assistance of the girls.
“Regrettable! Regrettable!” repeated the old gentleman.
Here Tavia again entered her wailing protest:
“I did not mean to take her bag from the counter. But somebody has taken my bag.”
“Oh, Tavia!” exclaimed her friend, now startled into noticing what Tavia really said about it.
“It’s gone!” wailed Tavia. “And all the money father sent me. Oh, dear, Doro Dale! I guess Ihavethrown my money away, and, as you prophesied, it isn’t as much fun as I thought it might be.”
“My dear young lady,” hastily inquired Mr. Schuman, “have you really lost your purse?”
“My bag,” sobbed Tavia. “I laid it down while I examined some silk. That clerk saw me,” she added, pointing to the man behind the counter.
“It is true, Mr. Schuman,” the silk clerk admitted, blushing painfully. “But, of course, I did not notice what became of the lady’s bag.”
“Nor did I see the other bag until I found it in my hand,” Tavia cried.
The crowd was dissipated by this time, and all spoke in low voices. Outside the counter was a cash-girl, a big-eyed and big-eared little thing, who was evidently listening curiously to the conversation. Mr. Mink said sharply to her:
“Number forty-seven! do you know anything about this bag business?”
“No—no, sir!” gasped the frightened girl.
“Then go on about your business,” the floorwalker said, waving her away in his most lordly manner.
Meanwhile, Dorothy had obtained a word with the young Mr. Knapp who had done her and Tavia such a kindness.
“Thank you a thousand times, Mr. Knapp,” she whispered, her eyes shining gratefully into his. “It might have been awkward for us without you. And,” she added, pointedly, “how fortunate you knew our names!”
He was smiling broadly, but she saw the color rise in his bronzed cheeks at her last remark. She liked him all the better for blushing so boyishly.
“Got me there, Miss Dale,” he blurted out. “I was curious, and I looked on the hotel register to see your names after the clerk brought it back from the parlor where he went to greet you yesterday. Hope you’ll forgive me for being so—er—rubbery.”
“It proves to be a very fortunate curiosity on your part,” she told him, smiling.
“Say!” he whispered, “your friend is all broken up over this. Has she lost much?”
“All the money she had to pay for the clothes she wished to buy, I’m afraid,” sighed Dorothy.
“Well, let’s get her out of here—go somewhere to recuperate. There’s a good hotel across the street. I had my breakfast there before I beganto shop,” and he laughed. “A cup of tea will revive her, I’m sure.”
“And you are suffering for a cup, too, I am sure,” Dorothy told him, her eyes betraying her amusement, at his rather awkward attempt to become friendly with Tavia and herself.
But Dorothy approved of this young man. Aside from the assistance he had undoubtedly rendered her chum and herself, G. Knapp seemed to be far above the average young man.
She turned now quickly to Tavia. Mr. Schuman was saying very kindly:
“Search shall be made, my dear young lady. I am exceedingly sorry that such a thing should happen in our store. Of course, somebody picked up your bag before you inadvertently took the other lady’s. If I had my way I would have it a law that every shopper should have her purse riveted to her wrist with a chain.”
It was no laughing matter, however, for poor Tavia. Her family was not in the easy circumstances that Dorothy’s was. Indeed, Mr. Travers was only fairly well-to-do, and Tavia’s mother was exceedingly extravagant. It was difficult sometimes for Tavia to obtain sufficient money to get along with.
Besides, she was incautious herself. It was natural for her to be wasteful and thoughtless. But this was the first time in her experience thatshe had either wasted or lost such a sum of money.
She wiped her eyes very quickly when Dorothy whispered to her that they were going out for a cup of tea with Mr. Knapp.
“Oh dear, that perfectly splendid cowboy person!” groaned Tavia. “And I am in no mood to make an impression. Doro! you’ll have to do it all yourself this time. Do keep him in play until I recover from, this blow—if I ever do.”
The young man, who led the way to the side door of the store which was opposite the hotel and restaurant of which he had spoken, heard the last few words and turned to ask seriously:
“Surely Miss Travers did not loseallthe money she had?”
“All I had in the world!” wailed Tavia. “Except a lonely little five dollar bill.”
“Where is that?” asked Dorothy, in surprise.
“In the First National Bank,” Tavia said demurely.
“Oh, then,that’ssafe enough,” said Mr. Knapp.
“I didn’t know you had even that much in the bank,” remarked Dorothy, doubtfully. “The First National?”
“Yep!” declared Tavia promptly, but nudged her friend. “Hush!” she hissed.
Dorothy did not understand, but she saw therewas something queer about this statement. It was news to her that her chum ever thought of putting a penny on deposit in any bank. It was not like Tavia.
“How do you feel now, dear?” she asked the unfortunate girl, as they stepped out into the open air behind the broad-shouldered young Westerner, who held the door open for their passage.
“Oh, dear me!” sighed Tavia. “I’m forty degrees in the shade—and the temperature is still going down. What evershallI do? I’ll be positively naked before Thanksgiving!”