Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 172 by Maxwel l Grant

Author:Maxwel,l Grant
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

CHAPTER XI. THE OPPORTUNITY

WHILE Rupert Sandersham was picturing the staggering loss of millions through his own sheer carelessness, his daughter Barbara was smiling over a well-managed profit of twenty-five cents, obtained by following Gert's formula of waiting until a customer said:

"Keep the change."

The job was a grind, as Gert had said. More than that, it included insults that Barbara had rapidly taught herself to ignore. It was sheer determination that had carried her through with it, and she was no longer depending upon the desire to help her father.

She had gotten nowhere with that plan, and she knew that there would be easier ways to push it than to stay on this Sky-high Club job, where she was always busy.

Gert was one reason why Barbara kept a stiff lip. They were pooling their tips, and when Barbara's pay day arrived, they would have another addition to their fund. There were things that the apartment needed. and Barbara wanted Gert to have them. At first, she had pictured how nice it would be, at some future date, to overwhelm Gert with a deluge of gifts of the sort that the Sandersham millions could buy.

Then Barbara had learned that such a way would never do. With Gert, things counted only when somebody had worked for them. The more that Barbara considered that singular philosophy, the more she admired it. So Barbara, when she made her rounds among the tables, took pride in the fact that she was working for Gert, not Slick Harrod.

There was another reason why Barbara liked the Sky-high Club. George Ellerby came there every night, and always took the same table. Barbara had decided that George would be more likely to form suspicions if she did not face him; so she made his table one of her most frequent stops. Apparently, George was buying enough cigarettes every night to carry him over the next day.

At times, he chatted with Barbara, but always allowed her to carry the conversation. Gert was noticing that tonight, and when she and Barbara met to refill their cigarette trays, the blonde smiled and said:

"I told you he was a swell guy."

"Who?" asked Barbara, blankly.

"The fellow who started you off with your first sale."

"You mean George -"

Gert chuckled, as Barbara stopped, embarrassed.

"So you learned his name, didn't you, Bab?"

"Yes. It's George Ellerby." Barbara tried to show indifference. "He happened to mention it one night. But I'm not particularly interested in him."

There was another laugh from Gert, as she said:

"All right, Miss Saunders. Go peddle your ciggies. But if you think that he isn't interested in you, ask him to buy a carton and see what he does about it."

AFTER Gert had gone, Barbara stood thinking. She was wondering whether or not Gert was right. From her experience, she had to admit that Gert was never wrong when it came to judging human nature.

As she thought it over, she realized that George Ellerby had actually impressed her, and with good reason. He had never treated her

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