THE BAZAAR 237 



a cynical hissing the announcement of Mrs Bing- 

 ham that the bazaar was now open, and the Uttle 

 speech which that excellent lady had been pre- 

 paring for three days and rehearsing all the 

 morning. 



Miss Grimshaw, whose place was at the fancy- 

 work stall, and whose duty it was to assist Miss 

 Slimon in the most nefarious, if undisguised, 

 robbery of customers, found time in the midst of 

 her duties to take in the doings of her neighbours. 

 Bobby Dashwood was much in evidence, buying 

 nothing, but officiating as an unsoUcited and 

 highly successful salesman, flirting with mature 

 spinster stall-holders and seeming to enjoy his 

 position immensely. Miss Grimshaw noted with 

 a touch of regret this flaw in his character, but she 

 had not time to dwell upon it. The sixpenny 

 barrier was now down, and the place that had 

 been full before was now all but packed. Farmers 

 and their wives and daughters, cottagers and 

 humble folk permeated the crowd; every now and 

 then the throb of a motor car coming to rest 

 announced some fresh arrival from a distance. 

 Mr French was not there. He had said that he 

 might look in later in the afternoon, but he had 

 not yet arrived. It was now four o'clock, and the 

 girl, half-dazed by the stuffy air of the place, the 

 buzz of tongues and the endeavour to make correct 

 change, was resting for a moment on a ledge of the 

 stall, when a voice brought her to her senses and 

 made her start to her feet. 



