th the curiosity, too. And the lady vamp with
the long string of beads danglin' from her neck didn't seem to think it
odd for us to be interested in checked ginghams.

"Ah, yes-s-s!" says she, throwin' open the back doors of the show
window. "Zey are great bargains, those. Marked down but las' week. Thees
wan--m-m-m-m--only $68; but wiz ze hat also, $93."

And the gasp that gets out of Peyton sounds like openin' an airbrake.

"Nine-ty three dollars!" says he. "For a simple little thing like that?
Why, that seems to be rather exorbitant!"

"Mais non!" says the lady vamp, shruggin' her shoulders. "They are what
you call simple, yes. But they are chic, too. One considers that. Las'
week come a young lady from Atlanta who in one hour takes two dozen at
once, and more next day. You see!"

Peyton was beginning to see. But he wanted to be dead sure. "From
Atlanta?" says he. "Not--not a--a Miss Vaughn?"

"Mais oui!" says Madame, clappin' her hands enthusiastic. "The ver' one.
You know her? Yes?"

"I--I thought I did," says Peyton, sort of weak, as he starts for the
door.

He calls off the picture proposition. Says he ain't quite in the mood.
And all that day he seems to have something on his mind that he couldn't
unload. Three or four times he seems to be just on the point of statin'
it to me but never can quite get a start. And next day he's a good deal
the same. He was like that when I left the office about 4 p.m. to catch
an early train. I could about guess what was troublin' him.

So I wasn't much surprised, just before dinner to see Peyton appearin'
at our front gate.

"I--I'm sure I don't know what you'll think of me, Torchy," he begins
apologizing "but I--I just had to----"

"Too bad!" says I. "You're only four hours late. Lucy Lee left for Lenox
on the 2:10."

"Gone!" says he. "But I thought----"

"Yes, she did plan to stay longer," says I, "but it was a bit slow for
her here, and when she got a wire that a certain Captain Wright was to
be at his sister's for a few days' furlough--Well, inside of an hour she
and her maid had packed and were on their way. Oh, yes, and there goes
the rest of Lucy Lee's baggage now."

The express truck was just rollin' around from the side door. Peyton
stares at the load goggle-eyed. "But--but you don't mean that all of
those trunks are hers?" he demands.

"Uh-huh," says I. "I helped strap 'em up. And one of them wardrobes,
Peyton, carries about twenty-five of those litt