"You will do nothing of the sort," said Madam Van Ruypen, shortly; "this is not to be of my purchasing; this boy will attend to it for me. Ben, you go along with the man and select the articles."
"Do you mean I'm to go without you, ma'am?" asked Ben, quite aghast at the very idea, his blue eyes very wide.
"Of course," said the old lady, having hard work not to laugh; "I said so, I believe."
"But, but—I may not pick out the right things," stammered Ben.
"I'll trust you," said Madam Van Ruypen, waving him off summarily. So as there was nothing else to do, Ben followed the little man down what seemed an interminable number of aisles, at last pausing before a set of drawers, on either hand of which was a cabinet with doors.
"Now, here," said the salesman, swinging wide one of the doors, "is just the thing. It's for yourself, I suppose," and he took down with a deft hand a jacket and a pair of trousers.
"Oh, no, it isn't," Ben made haste to say, answering the question.
"Hey—oh!" the little man whirled around to stare at him,—"your brother then?"
"No," said Ben, growing hot and red in the face. "It isn't for any of us,—no one I know; she's going to give them away to some boy who—" he was going to say "needs them," but the salesman shut off the words from his mouth, and, clapping to the door, led the way off down another aisle to a counter where the suits were piled high; "I've got just the very thing for you here," he announced, twitching one out; "there, now, see that."
"But that is much too nice," said Ben, putting his finger on the fine goods, and wishing he were anywhere else in the world but in that store, and the perspiration began to trickle in little drops down his face.