A slender girl in a shabby business suit was rudely jostled. Penny, half way up the moving stairway, tried to save her from a hard fall. She was not quick enough. Down the girl went, and as she fell, the contents of her pocketbook spilled out upon the moving stairway. The thief took advantage of the resulting confusion to melt into the throng of shoppers at the top of the escalator. While store detectives carried on the pursuit, Penny tried to help the terrified women to alight from the stairway.
“Are you hurt?” she asked the girl who had fallen, trying to assist her to her feet.
“Never mind me! Save my pocketbook!” the other cried, frantically beginning to gather up the scattered objects.
The other passengers upon the stairway were more of a hindrance than a help. Yet by working fast Penny managed to accumulate nearly all of the lost articles before the brief ride approached its end.
“My letter!”
At the other girl’s shrill cry, Penny saw a white envelope riding serenely on the uppermost step. With a bound she covered the distance which separated her from it, pouncing upon the letter an instant before the moving belt disappeared into the flooring.
Clutching it triumphantly in her hand, she turned to assist the girl who had lost it.
“Why, you’re limping,” she observed. “Here, lean on me.”
“It’s nothing,” the girl maintained staunchly. “I twisted my ankle when I fell.”
Penny helped her to a nearby chair. Despite the girl’s brave words, her lips quivered when she spoke and her attractive face had taken on an ashen hue. Yet, strangely, her interest centered not in her injury but in the letter which she had nearly lost.