Patty realised she was dismissed, and, taking her box, she started for the stairs.
She passed the red-headed boy again, and feeling almost as if she were meeting an old friend in a strange land, she said: “Where is Department B?”
“Caught on, didjer?” he grinned. “Good fer youse! B, first floor,—that way.”
He pointed a grimy finger in the direction she should take, and went on, whistling. Down the three flights of stairs went Patty, and thanks to the clarity of the red-headed one’s direction, she soon found Department B.
This was in charge of a sharp-faced woman, rather past middle age.
“Sent by Mr. Myers?” she inquired, looking at Patty coldly.
“I was sent by the man in Department G,” returned Patty. “He said my work would do, and that I was to report to you.”
“All right; how much do you want?” said the woman.
“How much do you pay?” returned Patty.
“Don’t be impertinent, miss! I mean how much work do you want?”