“What?” said the man, looking at her.
Patty repeated her request.
“Ain’t none,” he said. “Want work?”
Though unpolished, he was not rude, and after a moment’s hesitation, Patty said, “Yes, I do.”
“Have to hoof it, then. Three flights up; Department G.”
“All right,” said Patty, whose spirits always rose when she encountered difficulties. She saw the staircase, now; a rough, wooden structure of unplaned boards, and no balusters. But she trudged up the long flight hopefully.
The next floor seemed to be full of whirring looms, and the noise was, as Patty described it afterward, like the buzzing of a billion bees! But, asking no further directions, she ascended the next staircase and the next, until she found herself on the fourth floor.
Several people were bustling about here, all seeming to be very busy and preoccupied.
“Where is Department G?” she inquired of a man hurrying by.
“Ask at the desk,” he replied, without pausing.