“No—no, sir!” gasped the frightened girl.
“Then go on about your business,” the floorwalker said, waving her away in his most lordly manner.
Meanwhile, Dorothy had obtained a word with the young Mr. Knapp who had done her and Tavia such a kindness.
“Thank you a thousand times, Mr. Knapp,” she whispered, her eyes shining gratefully into his. “It might have been awkward for us without you. And,” she added, pointedly, “how fortunate you knew our names!”
He was smiling broadly, but she saw the color rise in his bronzed cheeks at her last remark. She liked him all the better for blushing so boyishly.
“Got me there, Miss Dale,” he blurted out. “I was curious, and I looked on the hotel register to see your names after the clerk brought it back from the parlor where he went to greet you yesterday. Hope you’ll forgive me for being so—er—rubbery.”
“It proves to be a very fortunate curiosity on your part,” she told him, smiling.
“Say!” he whispered, “your friend is all broken up over this. Has she lost much?”
“All the money she had to pay for the clothes she wished to buy, I’m afraid,” sighed Dorothy.
“Well, let’s get her out of here—go somewhere to recuperate. There’s a good hotel across the street. I had my breakfast there before I began to shop,” and he laughed. “A cup of tea will revive her, I’m sure.”