Mr. Forbes stared at her curiously.  He was not exactly angry.  As she stood supplicatingly before him, she was radiantly beautiful.

“Why not have it in the evening?” suggested Mr. Denton.  He had found his voice at last, and came to the superintendent’s rescue.

“The girls are so tired at night,” said Faith, sighing.  “I thought of that—­but it did not seem advisable.”

“We might arrange for a few of you to be away on that day.  Surely, you were not all Miss Jennings’ friends; there is no excuse for the whole store going into mourning.”

Mr. Forbes spoke decidedly and with a little of his old crustiness.  The spell of the girl’s magnetism was beginning to leave him.

“That would mean extra work for the clerks who remained,” was Faith’s desperate answer, “and poor Mary would be the first to object to that.  Their duties are hard enough now.  Oh, no, sir; I am sure that would not be thought of for a minute.  If there is work to be done, we will all stay and do it, but if you only would relieve us for a few hours, we would be deeply grateful.”

“It wouldn’t do at all, Mr. Forbes!”

Mr. Day spoke, if anything, more pompously than ever.  “Pardon me, but we have lost one day this week.  We can’t afford another.”

“That settles it,” said the superintendent, wheeling around in his chair.  “You will please return to your duties, Miss Marvin; we cannot allow your petition.”

Faith walked slowly from the office with the tears springing to her eyes.  Before she reached the ribbon counter a floor walker stepped up to her.  She had never seen him before, but recognized him at once as the Mr. Gunning whom she had heard the girls say belonged in that department, but was away just then upon a short vacation.

“You have been gone more than fifteen minutes, No. 411,” he said, sharply.  “Hurry over to your counter; Miss Fairbanks wishes to see you.”

Faith looked at him timidly.  He was a silly looking young man who wore a flaming red necktie and curled the ends of his mustache.

“Another tyrant,” thought Faith, but she only bowed respectfully.  Already in her short term of service she was getting used to tyrants.

“I am going to put you in Miss Jennings’ place for a day or two,” was the buyer’s greeting.  “I am short of girls, so you will have to do.  Miss Jones will tell you what you don’t know about the stock, and I hope you’ll be very careful in your measurement of the ribbon.”

“I will do my best,” said Faith, very sadly.  She was soon standing behind the counter, a full-fledged saleswoman.  For some reason there had been nothing said about the half day that she had lost, but Faith knew only too well that she would be heavily fined for her absence.  Still, it was better than being discharged.  She accepted the alternative thankfully.

If Bob Hardy was in the store he kept out of the ribbon department, for Faith looked around for him nervously several times, and was greatly relieved when she did not see him.