“Say, Lena, take that to Madame and tell her there’s a mistake. The folks say they don’t know anything about it.”

Lena, the pale little errand girl, took the heavy box and walked slowly off to find Madame, studying the address on the box as she went.

“Why!” She paused by the thoughtful-eyed woman. “It’s her. It’s that girl!”

Madame appeared suddenly with a frown.

“What’s this, Lena? How many times have I told you not to stop to talk? Where are you carrying that box?”

“Thomas says there’s a mistake in the address. The folks don’t know anything about it.”

“Where is Thomas? Send him to me. Here, Thomas. What’s the matter? Couldn’t you find the house? The address is perfectly plain.”

“Sure, I found the house, Madame, but they wouldn’t take it in. They said they didn’t know anything about it. It wasn’t theirs.”

“Did they say Miss Chapparelle didn’t live there? Who came to the door?”

[Pg 53]

[Pg 53]

“An old woman with white hair. Yes, she said Miss Chapparelle lived there. She said she was her daughter, but that the package didn’t belong to her. She said she never bought anything at this place.”

“Well, you can take it right back,” said Madame sharply. “Tell the woman the young lady knows all about it. Tell her it will explain itself when the young lady opens it. There’s a card inside. And Thomas,” hurrying after him as he slid away to the door, and speaking in a lower voice, “Thomas, you leave it there no matter what she says. It’s all paid for and I’m not going to be bothered this way. You’re to leave it no matter what she says, you understand?”

“Sure, Madame, I understand. I’ll leave it.”

The neat little delivery car with its one word “Grevet” in silver script on a mulberry background slid away on its well-oiled mechanism, and the service persons in their black satin straight frocks turned their black satin bobbed heads and looked meaningfully at one another with glances that said eagerly:

“I told you so. That girl was different!” and Madame looked thoughtfully out of her side window into the blank brick wall of the next 

 Prev. P 30/187 next