“Yes, of course we did. But the letter was returned to us.”
“What store was she working in? I am going to Philadelphia for the Christmas holidays, and I might be able to find her.”
“I’m not sure. But the package was marked ‘Strawbridge and Clothier’ on the box. Did you ever hear of that store?”
“Yes, I did. And I’ll go there and make inquiries for you, Mrs. Detweiler.”
The old lady seized Mary Louise’s hand gratefully.
“Oh, if you could only find her, Mary Louise,” she exclaimed, “we’d be the happiest couple alive!”
“I’ll do the best I can,” promised the girl as she turned to the door.
She ran all the way home, eager to find out what her mother was going to say in reply to her father’s startling proposition about her Christmas vacation.
CHAPTER II
The Job
If Mrs. Gay did not like the idea of losing her daughter for two weeks, at least she kept the feeling to herself. She congratulated Mary Louise heartily on being chosen for a difficult piece of work.