Miss Rose was too busy counting customers to notice who was in her chair until she had come close.

“Why, hello, Kate,” she said then.  “I was just wondering what had become of you.”

“Oh, I’ve been so busy, Marion.  I just had to steal the time today to come.  You weren’t out to my reading last night, and I was afraid you might not be well.  Do you think that I ought to touch up my hair, Marion?  Of course, I don’t mind it turning, so much—­but you know appearance counts everything with an audience until one begins to speak.  Fred says to leave it alone—­”

“Well, you do it.”  Miss Rose leaned over the chair with a handful of hairpins to place in the little box on the dressing shelf, and spoke confidentially in the ear of her patron.  “It’s not my business to knock the trade, Kate—­but honestly, that sign up there, that says ‘Hair Dyed at Your Own Risk’ ought to say, ‘to your own sorrow.’  If you start, you’ve got to keep it up or it looks simply frightful.  And if you keep it up it just ruins your hair.  You have such nice hair, Kate!” She picked up a sterilized brush and began stroking Kate’s hair soothingly.  It was not such nice hair.  It was very ordinary hair of a somewhat nondescript color; but Kate was her dearest friend, and praise is a part of the profession.  “What do you want?—­a scalp, shampoo, or just dressed, or a curl, or what?”

“What,” Kate retorted pertly.  “Just fuss around while I talk to you, Marion.  I—­”

“Rumley won’t stand for fussing.  I’ve got to do something she can recognize across the room.  How about a scalp?  You can talk while I massage, and then I’ll show you a perfectly stunning way to do your hair—­it’s new, and awfully good for your type of face.  How do you like mine today?”

“Why, I like it tremendously!” Kate gave her an appraising glance in the mirror.  “It’s something new, isn’t it?  Use plenty of tonic, won’t you, Marion?  They charge awful prices here—­but their tonic has done my hair so much good!  Listen, could you get off early today?  I simply must talk to you.  A perfectly tremendous opportunity has literally fallen our way, and I want you to benefit by it also.  A friend of Douglas’—­of Professor Harrison’s, I should say—­called our attention to it.  This friend wants to go in on it, but he can’t leave his business; so the idea is to have just Fred and the professor—­and you, if you’ll go—­and me to go and attend to the assessments.  All the other names will be dummy names—­well, silent partners is a better word—­and we can control a tremendously valuable tract that way.  How about a henna rinse, Marion?  Would it be worth while?”

“Why, a henna rinse would brighten your hair, Kate—­and lots of nice women have them.  But you’ll have to have a shampoo, you know.  The henna rinse is used with a shampoo.  I believe I’d have one if I were you, Kate.  You never could tell it in the world.  And it’s good for the hair, too.  It—­”