“I haf had my eye feexed on that set of Poe seence Christmas,” he heard a low, unfamiliar voice say. He felt a sudden jarring of the truck. Someone had leaned against it. The truck rolled an inch or two, and the speaker changed position, without turning about or noting the boy seated under the shelf.
“Wait until that girl in the desk goes to lunch,” came the cautious, whispered answer. “I can’t do a thing, with her there. If the inspectress who relieves her is as stupid as the reliefs Wallace has been sending down here lately, I can put it through all right. You’ll have to pay ten cents a volume, though.”
“It weel not break me,” laughed the first speaker. “I weel return the favor whenever you say. Come to the department on your luncheon hour with your hat on and you shall haf the embroidered——”
“Beat it,” hissed the other voice, “there comes——”
There was a quick scurry of feet. Harry rose hastily from the bin where he had been crouching, bumping his head smartly on the projecting ledge as he straightened up. The impact made him see stars for an instant. He struggled to his feet, however, pushing the truck from him, and glanced quickly up and down the department. But he was too late. Half a dozen salespersons stood about the floor, but there were no strange salesmen to be seen. The unfamiliar voice belonged to no one in Department 85, and the whispered voice he could not recognize. It might belong to anyone in the department.
Then he remembered the words, “that set of Poe.” He hurried to the section where the sets of expensive books were displayed and began an eager scanning of the titles. Here he met with defeat. There were at least a dozen sets of Poe, all in expensive bindings.
“What are you looking for, boy?” A drawling voice suddenly addressed him. The salesman who had charge of the stock, a stout, brown-haired young man with rather sleepy-looking, blue eyes stood blinking at the boy. “You mustn’t finger those sets. Remember, they cost money.”
“I wasn’t fingering them. I was just looking.” Inwardly, Harry was indignant. His quiet, respectful voice did not reveal this fact, however. Then he said innocently, although his blue eyes studied the salesman intently. “I suppose these sets of Poe are very expensive.”
His remark drew no blood. The salesman merely grinned derisively at him and said, “I guess it would take more than your week’s wages to buy a set.”