第9章 WITCHES' LOAVES(2)

Miss Martha took to wearing her blue-dotted silk waist behind the counter.In the back room she cooked a mysterious compound of quince seeds and borax.Ever so many people use it for the complexion.

One day the customer came in as usual, laid his nickel on the showcase, and called for his stale loaves.While Miss Martha was reaching for them there was a great tooting and clanging, and a fire-engine came lumbering past.

The customer hurried to the door to look, as any one will.Suddenly inspired, Miss Martha seized the opportunity.

On the bottom shelf behind the counter was a pound of fresh butter that the dairyman had left ten minutes before.With a bread knife Miss Martha made a deep slash in each of the stale loaves, inserted a generous quantity of butter, and pressed the loaves tight again.

When the customer turned once more she was tying the paper around them.

When he had gone, after an unusually pleasant little chat, Miss Martha smiled to herself, but not without a slight fluttering of the heart.

Had she been too bold? Would he take offense? But surely not.There was no language of edibles.Butter was no emblem of unmaidenly forwardness.

For a long time that day her mind dwelt on the subject.She imagined the scene when he should discover her little deception.

He would lay down his brushes and palette.There would stand his easel with the picture he was painting in which the perspective was beyond criticism.

He would prepare for his luncheon of dry bread and water.He would slice into a loaf -- ah!

Miss Martha blushed.Would he think of the hand that placed it there as he ate? Would he --The front door bell jangled viciously.Somebody was coming in, making a great deal of noise.

Miss Martha hurried to the front.Two men were there.One was a young man smoking a pipe -- a man she had never seen before.The other was her artist.

His face was very red, his hat was on the back of his head, his hair was wildly rumpled.He clinched his two fists and shook them ferociously at Miss Martha._At Miss Martha_.

"_Dummkopf_!" he shouted with extreme loudness; and then "_Tausendonfer_!"or something like it in German.

The young man tried to draw him away.

"I vill not go," he said angrily, "else I shall told her."He made a bass drum of Miss Martha's counter.

"You haf shpoilt me," he cried, his blue eyes blazing behind his spectacles."I vill tell you.You vas von _meddingsome old cat_!"Miss Martha leaned weakly against the shelves and laid one hand on her blue-dotted silk waist.The young man took the other by the collar.

"Come on," he said, "you've said enough." He dragged the angry one out at the door to the sidewalk, and then came back.

"Guess you ought to be told, ma'am," he said, "what the row is about.

That's Blumberger.He's an architectural draftsman.I work in the same office with him.

"He's been working hard for three months drawing a plan for a new city hall.It was a prize competition.He finished inking the lines yesterday.You know, a draftsman always makes his drawing in pencil first.When it's done he rubs out the pencil lines with handfuls of stale bread crumbs.That's better than India rubber.

"Blumberger's been buying the bread here.Well, to-day -- well, you know, ma'am, that butter isn't -- well, Blumberger's plan isn't good for anything now except to cut up into railroad sandwiches."Miss Martha went into the back room.She took off the blue-dotted silk waist and put on the old brown serge she used to wear.Then she poured the quince seed and borax mixture out of the window into the ash can.