Oh, it’s no trouble whatever. I’ll send the buyer around. She’ll fix you up all right. You say you don’t want very expensive things, just plain, good, substantial. All right. You stay where you are, 364 Morningside, you say. I’ll call you up in about fifteen minutes.”

Elsie hung up the receiver, and emerged into the outer world from the telephone booth, looking around her almost dazed. Life had gone so rapidly the last three hours that she seemed to have been whirled through things without any ability to stop or think. Now she suddenly realized she was tired and hungry.

She looked at her watch. It was twenty minutes to two. It seemed ages since she left her aunt’s house for that tennis game after breakfast. In less than an hour the women would be at the house ready for work and she would have to be there. She must get something to eat.

The soda fountain offered a suggestion. She went over to investigate. Hot tomato bouillon, crisp crackers, and a sundae seemed a menu pleasant enough. She sat down to refresh herself while she awaited her telephone call.

Chapter 4

 

As she ate her lunch, Elsie’s mind went back to the desolate house she had left, and gradually the thought took form, how pleasant it would be to set the dining-table and prepare a simple meal before she left.

She toyed idly with the idea, and put it from her many times, telling herself it would be impossible, for there was enough to do just to make things clean and get the beds ready for sleeping; and after she had finished her sundae she resolutely took out her pencil and note-book from her handbag, and began to figure out just what things she must have for the house and how much she could afford for each, that she might be ready to decide quickly when the prices were telephoned to her. This, of course, was absorbing for the time, and was barely done when the call came.

Five minutes later she emerged from the telephone booth well satisfied. Mr. Belknap had been very energetic and complete. He had arranged to have things delivered within two hours at the latest. He had discovered a number of bargains for her benefit, and he knew all about sizes and qualities, which she did not. His suggestions were valuable. She had the comfortable feeling that everything could be returned that was not satisfactory. He had told her of some wonderful values in eider-down quilts—of course only flowered sateen, but really neat and pretty, pink, blue, and yellow. He told her which blankets were warmest, said a dimity spread was good enough for daily use, and revealed to her ignorance the advantage of buying a dozen of the Turkish and huckaback towels on sale in the basement, and getting her tablecloths and napkins ready hemmed. He also suggested washrags, and promised to look up a few plain linen bureau-scarfs and a sideboard-cover to send with the rest. On the whole, she was very happy. There was half an hour before those women would be at the house. She had time to stop at the grocery and get soap, brooms, and a scrubbing-brush. That awful sink! What could she do with that? Wasn’t it lye that Aunt Esther always used when the drainpipes got stopped up? Yes, lye and boiling water.

Once in the store, she found a number of things that would help the work along—sand soap, silver-polish, floor-oil, a mop.