?" she said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You?" Mrs. Wladek barked. "You have done enough. I am not here to see
you. But your supervisor, your boss--him, I will see."

"My supervisor?" Gloria looked round. "He isn't here yet."

"He will be here later?"

"Of course he will," Gloria said.

Mrs. Wladek sat down in a chair next to Gloria's desk. "I will wait,"
she announced. "And you should know that there is nothing you can do to
me now." She reached into her bag and brought out a small wooden cross
she had brought with her from the old country. She waved it at Gloria
wildly.

"Do anything to you? What do you mean, Mrs. Wladek?"

"Hah," Mrs. Wladek said. "You need not pretend with me. This frightens
you. No?"

Gloria blinked. "I'm afraid not," she said.

"But ... you are trying to fool me," Mrs. Wladek said. "And I will not
be fooled. I wait here for your boss, your supervisor."

There was nothing else to do. "All right," Gloria said.

* * * * *

Everybody stared, of course, but none of the other workers came over to
find out why Mrs. Wladek had come in on a day that wasn't her
appointment day. With Mrs. Wladek right there, asking questions just
wasn't possible. Gloria tried to get some work done, but that wasn't
possible either, and she resigned herself at last to sitting quietly and
waiting for Mr. Fredericksohn's arrival.

She promised herself she'd make up for the loss of time by taking a
shorter lunch hour, and that relieved her mind a little. But she did
hope Mr. Fredericksohn would be early.

Thankfully, he was. At nine twenty-five exactly, the door opened and Mr.
Fredericksohn entered. He glanced once round the office, saw Mrs. Wladek
and went on. A second later he stopped.

He didn't have a chance to say anything. Mrs. Wladek was at his side. "I
must see you at once," she said. "I must see you alone, at once."

He stared at her. "Miss Scott here, I'm sure, can--"

"It is about Miss Scott that I want to talk to you," Mrs. Wladek hissed.

Mr. Fredericksohn glanced at Gloria. She busied herself with papers. At
last he said: "Come with me," and led Mrs. Wladek down the aisle into
his private office. The door closed.

Ten minutes passed and the door opened. Mr. Fredericksohn's head
projected. "Miss Scott," he said. "May I see you for a minute?"

The curiosity in the office was almost a solid pressure, but Gloria paid
it no attention. She said: "Certainly," put a