Dick agreed with her, and then they began talking about other things. On Monday morning eleven o'clock a small, stylishly dressed lady, of a blonde complexion, came into the store and asked for Mr. Bacon. She was shown into his office, where she introduced herself as Mrs. Patterson. She said she had been recommended to Mr. Bacon's store by the Rev. John Dobbs, pastor of a certain church. The church in question was the one that the merchant was connected with, and the pastor was a warm friend of his. She said that the Rev. Dobbs had given her a note to hand to Mr. Bacon, but she had lost or mislaid it, for it was not in her bag. The merchant asked her what he could do for her, and she said she had called to look at his stock of silver cups and a few other articles in the silver line. Mr. Bacon said he would be very glad to give her every opportunity to make a selection from among his latest samples, and he assigned Dick to wait on her, as the boy was very successful in dealing with the lady customers of the house.
So Dick took her up to the sample room and let her see what was on exhibition in the lines she wanted. The boy had engaging ways that always took with the ladies, so he never had any difficulty in handling them to their own satisfaction and that of his employer. Mr. Bacon had given him a quiet tip that Mrs. Patterson was a special customer who had been recommended to him, so Dick laid himself out to please her. He appeared to have no trouble in doing so, for in a short time she made quite a number of purchases of the finest and most expensive articles, and giving her address to Dick said that she wanted the ware delivered C. O. D. at her residence that afternoon at six o'clock. Her husband would be home at that hour and would pay the bill in cash. She then left the store, after picking out an expensive diamond pin to be sent with the other goods. Dick turned the order and the directions in to his boss, who O. K.'d it and handed it over to his manager, through whom it proceeded to the packer, who got the articles from Dick, and the ring from the diamond salesman. About closing time Mr. Bacon called Dick into his office.
"I wish you'd take that package up to Mrs. Patterson's house, if it is not too heavy for you," the merchant said. "It is on your way home, and as the bill amounts to $700, I'd rather you would collect it than a messenger."
"All right, sir," answered Dick, who was always willing to oblige his employer.
He got the package, which weighed about twenty pounds, and left the store with it at a quarter-past five, when the porter closed up. The address Mrs. Patterson had given was on the West Side, in a district wholly occupied by fine private houses, except in a few instances, where there were handsome apartment houses on the corners. Dick took the elevated at Cortlandt street station and at ten minutes of six got out at the nearest station on Columbus avenue to the block he was bound for. It still wanted a minute or two of six when he mounted the high stoop of the handsome house which bore Mrs. Patterson's number. He rang the bell, and after the lapse of five minutes, during which interval he was, without his knowledge, inspected through the inside blinds on the parlor floor, a tall man, in good clothes, with a dark complexion, opened the door and asked him what he wanted.
"Does Mrs. Henry Patterson live here?" he asked.
"She does," replied the man. "Are you from Mr. Bacon's store on John street?"
"I am."
"Walk in."
Dick entered and the heavy vestibule door was closed behind him.