"So do I!"
"Well, you needn't rub it in. Anyhow, even if I had the price, I'd rather spend it on a Ford."
"What's the matter with havin' 'em both? You're full as likely to have one as the other; come on. What's the good of standin' here lettin' your mouth water over things there's no hope of your gettin'? Let's call it off an' go to a picture show."
A moment later another pair would saunter up and stop.
"Oh, Mame, look at that diamond necklace! Isn't it wonderful! Do you s'pose it's real?"
"Real! You bet your life it's real! You won't catch Burton and Norcross putting fake diamonds in their window. Come along, for heaven's sake; I'm starving and want my lunch. It's no use to hang round here staring in."
"I can look, can't I?"
"If you want to, yes. Lookin's a cheap entertainment. You're silly to do it though. It'll only get you out of sorts."
So babbled the crowd.
A listener might have amused himself the whole day long enjoying the comments of the throng had he nothing better to do than loiter near by. Unfortunately, however, the corner did not foster extended loitering. It was far too busy a spot. About it swirled and surged an eddy of shoppers, all hurrying this way and that and jostling one another so mercilessly that he who did not make one of the current and move with the stream was all but exterminated. Like a tidal wave, the ruthless concourse swept past, bearing with it everything that obstructed its path. You went whether you would or no, and afterward you stepped into a doorway, caught your breath, straightened your hat, and tried to remember what it was you had intended to do.