XXIV
They held a conference in the ante-room, Joe, Mr. Bill, Bert and Norah.
"This Pitts is a real man, is he, Bert?" asked Joe.
"I should say he was! Big as the side of a house and quicker than chainlightning. He knew all about this Pracht brute and understood at oncewhy he stole the Gilfooly marriage record. He says the Sons of Sunshineare only the tools of a syndicate that is trying to get possession ofthe islands to sell them to Japan, so that Japan can have an aeroplanebase near the United States. Sounds like an old-fashioned melodrama,doesn't it? The beautiful heroine and the wicked villain andeverything!"
"Everything but the noble hero," sighed Norah. "He should find thequeen. Poor little girl! I wonder where she is!"
"Poor Queen Teresa!" They all wondered.
"Say," exclaimed Mr. Bill suddenly. "I'm not satisfied! I'm going backto the aluminum!" And he dashed into a descending elevator.
They were close at his heels, and when they left the cage at thebasement, they met Mr. Larsen waiting to go up. He put out his hand andcaught Mr. Bill's arm.
"Did you find the girl you were looking for?" he asked quickly. "Youwere in such a hurry you didn't wait for me to remember that there wasanother one. I sent her to the crockery!" He nodded toward the crockerywhich was a neighbor of the hardware. "She was an old girl," heexplained, "and that was why----"
But Mr. Bill did not wait to hear "why," he was hurrying to a pile ofblue-and-white mixing bowls which half concealed a little clerk in therequired black sateen. Her back was toward them, but they could see thather hair was pulled from her forehead into a tight knot at her neck andthat she wore big amber goggles. She looked as if she might be a nearrelative to the Mary Smith they had found in the hardware. Joe Caryshook his head. That girl wasn't Tessie. Here was just anotherdisappointment for Mr. Bill.
"He's only wasting time," Joe grumbled to Norah Lee, for if that girlwas Tessie of course Joe would recognize her at once, and Joe could notsee that she resembled Tessie in anything but size. Tessie never woreher hair like that. And Tessie did not have amber goggles.
"I beg your pardon," Mr. Bill said breathlessly, when he reached theblack sateen back, "but would you be kind enough to remove yourglasses?" But before the girl could remove her glasses, before shecould do more than swing around and shrink away and blush and stammer,he had her hands in his. "Tessie!" he cried. "Tessie Gilfooly! I knewyou were here!" His hands held her fingers tight as he repeated, "I knewyou were here!"
"Tessie!" It was plain that Joe had never really thought that she wouldbe there.
"Queen Teresa?" Bert peered over Joe's shoulder and wondered if thisodd-looking girl could be pretty Tessie Gilfooly.
"Oh, Tessie Gilfooly!" Norah was as sure as Mr. Bill. "We have been soworried about you!"
"How did you know I was here?" Tessie tore off the disguising glassesand let them see her big blue eyes.
"I knew!" Mr. Bill told her quickly. "I had a hunch you would feel saferin your old job than anywhere else in Waloo. And you disguised yourselfas a salesgirl!" He laughed chokingly. "And came back right next to theold job? That's a good one on Walker! He never recognized you?"
"You didn't recognize her at first, either, Mr. Bill," reminded themortified Mr. Walker, who was hovering near. "And the crockery isn't inmy department."
"I knew she was here!" declared Mr. Bill. "But it did take me a minuteor two to find her. I never thought she would hide herself behind ambergoggles. We hunted for you all night," he told Tessie simply.
Tessie flushed. "I'm sorry," she said just as simply. "I was so scared,and so mad," she explained. And she told them how she had gone to findKa-kee-ta, and had been locked in an upstairs room in the old brickhouse. And when she had escaped, owing to Joe's insistence on herregular attendance at the Y. W. C. A. gymnasium classes, she had goneback to the old home and fallen asleep. It was morning when she wakened,and she had changed her clothes, found a nickel in the baking powdercan, and telephoned to Granny that she was all right. Then she had goneto the Evergreen. "It was awfully good of Mr. Larsen to take me. I guesshe was short-handed. I knew no one would look for me here. And if Ipulled my hair back," she put her hand up and pulled her hair looseraround her face, "and put on these big amber glasses, I knew no onewould recognize me. And no one did!" she finished triumphantly.
"I did!" contradicted Mr. Bill proudly. "I recognized you!"
"I'm glad you did!" Tessie told him softly. "I'm glad you found me!" Shefelt so safe with Mr. Bill. Mr. Bill would never let any one harm her.She became aware that Mr. Bill was holding tight to her hand, and thatthe people in the department, customers and clerks were staring at her.She tried to release her fingers, but Mr. Bill would not let them go.
"What's this? What's this?" Mr. Kingley himself was coming toward them.Customers and clerks fell back to make a gangway. "So Queen Teresa hasbeen found in the Evergreen basement a second time!" He smiled until hesaw Joe Cary, when he stopped smiling and looked as foolish and asself-conscious as a fat, bald-headed, elderly man could look.
"A strange coincidence," Joe murmured impudently.
"Your special representative is here, Miss Gilfooly," exclaimed Bert,eager for a portion of the Queen's attention. "Mr. Marvin sent me totell you. You can learn all about your kingdom now."
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Tessie. "I've almost decided I don't want akingdom! I don't know as I even want to be a queen! It's a lot safer tobe a salesgirl!" And she drew a long breath.
"That's the stuff, Tess!" indorsed Joe. "There isn't any place in theworld to-day for a queen!"
"Miss Gilfooly has no choice," broke in Mr. Kingley, turning his broadback to Joe. "Her good fortune, as such things always are, is just anaccident of birth. And one cannot escape the duties to which one isborn. That is true of my son and it is true of Miss Gilfooly. Neither ofthem can shirk the obligations which Providence has given them. Ishould suggest," he added hastily, as he became aware of an increasingaudience, "that Mr. Douglas take Queen Teresa to see Mr. Pitts, so thatour business may be resumed. All of these good people," he smiledbenevolently on the good people, who were staring at him open-eyed andopen-mouthed, "wish to buy something."
"I'll take her!" Mr. Bill exclaimed jealously, and he still clung toTessie's little hand.
"We'll all go," suggested Joe. "You come too, Mr. Kingley?" he addedwith unusual courtesy.
"I can't go like this," objected Tessie, looking scornfully at her blackfrock and touching her hair with her free hand. "I'm a fright!"
"You're an angel!" contradicted Mr. Bill.
Norah slipped behind Tessie, and with magic fingers touched the littleknot at the back of Tessie's head. A miracle seemed to be performedbefore their eyes, for the old Tessie came back to them with theloosening of her yellow hair.
"Bless me!" murmured Mr. Kingley, as interested as he was surprised.
"It's easy for a girl to disguise herself with colored glasses and a newway of doing her hair," laughed Tessie. Her cheeks were as pink as theyhad been pale. "But shouldn't I go and put on some of my queen clothes?"she asked anxiously. She wished to appear at her best before her specialrepresentative.
"You look like an angel as you are!" declared Mr. Bill again, and hisvoice shook. "Come along!"
A way opened through the crowd, and as Mr. Bill led the Queen away,there was a cheer. Another voice, actually Mr. Walker's voice, took upthe shout, until the air was filled with, "Hurrah for Queen Teresa!Hurrah for the Queen!" The sound was music to Mr. Kingley. It was as ifthe Metropolitan Grand Opera company were there singing in his basement.He turned to Joe. He could afford to be magnanimous.
"Queens may be out of place in the world, Joe," he said complacently,"but the people still seem to like them!"
"Yes," remarked Joe with a grin, "people will always like a show." Andhe added, as if he were reading Mr. Kingley's inner thoughts, "This isanother great day for the Evergreen, isn't it? You're coming with us,Mr. Kingley? Tessie will want everything cleared up now."
"Of course I'm coming!" Mr. Kingley was a bit testy. "I just want tospeak to----"
"Mr. Gray?" suggested Joe with another grin.
"To send a message to Miss Gilfooly's grandmother," Mr. Kingleycorrected with great dignity. "I think she should know that the queenhas been found."