Win to go out with her in the long
summer evenings, but always in vain, month after month, until one day
in mid-July, when the heat wave had surged to its record height. It
just chanced--if there be such a thing as chance--to happen on the day
when the girl's craving for a change had become an obsession, almost
an illness.

It was a little past noon, and the seniors in Mantles had gone out to
lunch. They were rather by way of being aristocrats, these seniors,
for the mantle department, Jewellery, and some others worked "on
commission." Salaries were no larger than elsewhere, but a handsome
percentage was paid on sales; and those tigers and tigresses who were
strong and ferocious enough to grab meat from under their weaker
comrades' noses did extremely well. The Mantles girls who had gone out
were champion tigresses. They could afford to eat at something like
real restaurants, and as there was nothing worth rushing back for,
they would not return until the last moment.

Lily Leavitt, who was qualifying as a tigress, had just snatched a
sale which ought to have been Win's, but that did not count in their
private relations. It was business, and Win was "welcome to play the
same game"--if she could. Only, there was no danger that she would.
Win was not of the stuff from which tigresses are made, and was
incapable of seizing for herself anything--be it a seat in the subway
or the chance to sell a mantle--which some other human creature was
striving to get.

Win bore Lily no grudge for having "bagged" her customer and gained in
three minutes three dollars which should rightfully have found their
way to her purse. She listened without resentment to the description
of a hat which Lily intended to buy with the money--a "sticker" it had
proved in Hats, and was now marked down to half price. Lily had had an
eye on it for some time, and would, of course, get it "ten per." off.

"I bought me a sweet party dress last week--a bargain," Miss Leavitt
went on, seeing that Win had no intention of "slanging" her for what
she had just done. "It came outta commission on that green chiffon
evening cloak and that white yachtin' I snapped off Kit Vance when she
was daydreamin' and let me catch onto her customer like you done just
now. Things is down to no price this hot weather. It's an ill wind
blows no one good, and now is us guyls' time to get a bit of our own.
P.R. always manages to make his hay, rain or shine. And even with our
ten pe