“There,” she breathed, “that’s done. Now for bed.”
Two thoughts passed across her dreamy mind before she fell asleep: “I may sleep until ten. How perfectly gorgeous! The first person I shall look for when I enter the store will be Laurie Seymour. I wonder if I shall see him? How exciting. I wonder—”
In the midst of this last wonder she fell asleep.
CHAPTER III
A NEW MYSTERY
It was a very satisfactory reflection that Lucile’s mirror returned to her next morning at ten. After fifteen minutes of such gymnastics as even a girl can perform in her own room with the shades down, followed by five minutes of a cold shower, she stood there pink and glowing as a child. The glow of health and joy remained on her cheeks even after her drab working dress had been drawn on. It was heightened by the half hiding of them in that matchless white fox collar. Almost instantly, however, a look of perplexity overspread her face as her eyes caught the reflection of a tiny spot of crimson against the darker color of the gorgeous cape which had so mysteriously come into her possession.
“The crimson thread,” she whispered. “I do wonder what it could mean.”
The elevated train whirled her swiftly to her place of toil.
To her vast relief, the first familiar figure to catch her eyes as she passed between the tables of books in her own corner at the store was that of Laurie Seymour.
Could it be that as he smiled and nodded to her she caught in his eye a look of witching mockery? One thing she did see plainly enough—there were slight bruises and two freshly plastered cuts on his right hand.
“Got them when he went down the chute,” she told herself.