That the girl was a petty thief amounted to almost nothing beside her viciousness and animosity toward her fellow beings.

Faith was sorely puzzled over what to say, and while she was trying to collect her scattered wits Miss Willis poured out a little more of her venom.

“If there’s a girl in this place I hate it’s Mag Brady,” she said candidly, “and she knows it, you bet!  I haven’t tried to conceal it!  I’m different from Mag, I hit straight out from the shoulder!  She’s a sneak and a coward; she’ll wait till it’s dark before she fights you!  You see you haven’t been out in the world long enough to read people yet, but I have, I’m a regular veteran in the army of evil.”

She laughed loudly as she finished, as though her words were highly amusing.  To be experienced in the ways of evil seemed to her to be the highest possible recommendation.

“I hope I shall never know any more about sin than I do now,” said Faith soberly, “but really, I seem to be learning more and more every day.”

“It won’t hurt you,” responded her companion patronizingly.  “You’ve got to hold your own, you know; if you don’t you go to the bottom.  The world is full of sharks and so is this store.  The sooner you find it out the better it will be for you.”

Faith saw that the girl was growing serious now.  What she said was intended to be for Faith’s good; whether it was good advice or not, it was the best she had to offer.

“Hello!” cried Miss Willis suddenly.  “Do my eyes deceive me, or is that really a plumber that I see over in that corner?”

She raised her voice so that every one heard her, and a clerk in the opposite corner made haste to answer her: 

“That’s what it is all right, Lou, a real, live plumber!  The Board of Health has come to its senses at last, and, thanks to that Government Inspector, we are going to have some ‘modern improvements.’”

“I hope we’ll have basins enough to go around,” cried another voice, “and perhaps there’ll be an occasional glimpse of a really clean towel.”

“Oh, you mustn’t expect too much,” answered the plumber, laughing.  “I only got orders to do a little puttering.  It’s just a bluff they are chucking; it won’t cost them much if nothin’.”

“Which means that you can’t get rich all at once!” cried Miss Willis, grinning.  “Well, I’m sorry you can’t squeeze a fairly good sum out of our nice, generous employers.”

Faith went back to her counter, feeling sad at heart.  She was beginning to question the wisdom of her mercy toward Miss Willis.

“I don’t believe that anything would ever change her heart,” she whispered to herself, and then a great wave of shame swept over her as she felt that she had questioned the power of the Almighty.

She stepped behind the counter just in time to see Miss Fairbanks changing the prices on a lot of special ribbons, but before she could ask any questions Miss Jones came up to her.