There was a switchboard and a little window marked Information, but no one was at the desk. As I came in, a light came on on the switchboard and a buzzer sounded. The woman at the adding machine came over to the switchboard, plugged in a line, said, “Roxberry Estates, Incorporated... No, he isn’t here... I can’t tell you just when he will be... No, I’m not certain he’ll be here at all today... Was there any message?... Very well, I’ll tell him Thank you.”
She was past fifty, a woman who had evidently been working all of her life. Her eyes were tired but kind, and there was about her the air of a person who knows exactly what she is doing.
I followed a hunch. “You’ve been with the corporation since it was organized?”
“Yes.”
“And were employed by Mr. Roxberry prior to that time?”
“Yes. What is it you wish?”
I said, “I’m trying to find out something about a man by the name of Hale.”
“What did you want to know about him?”
“Something about his credit.”
“May I have your name?”