THE FIRST CUSTOMER

Joy hadn’t quite recovered from her disappointment over her spoiled chair. She was working away with a frown as she repaired the damage. At a suggestion from Bob that she finish the job she had started on him, Joy gave a dab with her brush and left a long streak across his cheek.

“Now go away and leave me alone, Bob Evans.”

“Get to work! Get to work!” shouted Bet. “Here help me with this table, Phil.”

They lifted the heavy library table that the Colonel had given them from one corner of the room to the other. At the fifth move, Bet was satisfied but that brought it back to exactly the spot where she had started.

“Why don’t you two go into the moving business? Bet has a talent in that direction,” teased Bob.

“Now I’m just too happy today to get angry at you for anything, Bob, so you might as well give up. I’m having the time of my life!”

And Bet looked happy as she arranged the large easy chairs about the room, while Shirley got out the portfolios of prints for the table.

“There now, the work’s all done, isn’t it?” asked Phil.

“Why the idea!” laughed Bet. “There are millions of things to do yet.”

“It will take weeks to have things the way we want it,” agreed Kit.

The girls now got out needles and some orange silk and started on the fancy shade for the lights. A floor lamp was to give the main lighting for the room and a number of wall brackets would add to the artistic effect.

“It’s kind of you to say that there is nothing else we can do,” laughed Phil with a deep bow.

“And thanks for the eats. Ask us to come to your next party, that is if there is no work to do.”

“Why you lazy things! There’ll always be work at Shirley’s Shop,” said Bet.

“Bye-bye,” waved Bob as he and Phil departed.

The girls hurried on with their different tasks. Kit and Bet were making the lamp shades, chattering of their plans for the future.

Shirley putting some prints away noticed the fan.

“Say, Bet, why was old Peter Gruff so excited about the fan?”

“That’s just his way. He’s simply crazy about antiques. He’ll be offering Dad a dollar and a half for it some of these days.”

“We can see right down into his basement from our rear window,” said Joy. “Did you ever see such a disorderly place? Isn’t it a wonder that he ever sells anything?”

The boys had not been gone long when two women walked past the shop, then turned and stopped at the window with an exclamation of surprise.

“When did this place open? Isn’t it attractive? Let’s go in and see who it is and what they have.”

Kit grabbed Joy by the arm. “Let’s get out and leave things to Bet and Shirley. Four saleswomen in this shop at present are a few too many.” The girls slipped into the room in the rear and waited breathlessly to see what would happen.

Bet recognized the two women. They were newcomers to the town. Mrs. Lester had a charming home in Crestwood, a new suburb of the village, and Mrs. Carey lived only a few streets away.

“We noticed your pretty shop and thought we would look in and see what you have,” said Mrs. Lester.

Bet turned to Shirley but now that she was faced with a possible customer, the girl was panic stricken. She bent her head over her work and left Bet to do the talking.

Bet did not find any difficulty in this, however. She rose quite naturally and invited the women to be seated. Mrs. Carey started toward a bright orange chair, and Bet cried, “Oh not there, Mrs. Carey. That one is just painted!” and as the woman turned toward another one, she grabbed her by the arm just in time. “That chair is being repaired and would have let you down.”

Everybody was laughing by this time and Shirley was on her feet, offering the women the chairs that were usable.

“How long has your shop been open?” asked Mrs. Carey. “I never noticed it before.”

“It isn’t open yet that is we planned on opening it next Saturday, for the paint on the outside isn’t dry, and as you see, the chairs are still wet and rickety.” And Bet went on to tell of their plans for a Saturday Shop.

As she stopped, Mrs. Lester exclaimed: “That’s a splendid idea! I call that clever of you!”

“Oh, I’m not clever. It’s Shirley here. She’s the one who makes those pretty prints that you see in the window.”

“They are lovely. I noticed them.”

“They will make nice Christmas presents, don’t you think so?” suggested Bet. “Of course it’s a little early to think of buying presents, but it’s a good idea to have them on hand.”

Mrs. Lester smiled at the girl’s eagerness and her charming manner.

“I saw one in the window that pleased me very much, but you have everything so nicely arranged I hate to disturb it.”

“You needn’t worry about that. We’d just love to sell it to you,” and Bet looked toward Shirley, who had dropped her work and was already getting the print.

Then Shirley opened her portfolio and the two women looked over the pictures.

“That view of the Hudson is very pretty but I think the print of the gulls suits me better. Yes, that’s the one I will take.”

Mrs. Carey chose a landscape. Shirley called it “At Dawn.”

“This scene is right around here, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, it’s right down there by Ritter’s pond.”

“I love it!” exclaimed the woman. “You’ve made it prettier than the real scene.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Mrs. Carey. You should see it just at sunrise or on a misty morning. It’s perfect!”

“That’s one nice thing about Shirley. Her pictures are an improvement on nature,” laughed Bet.

Kit and Joy, who had been whispering for some time in the back room now appeared with a tray and teapot.

Bet gave them a ravishing smile of approval, and over tea and cakes the girls amused their callers with a recital of their doings.

“Will every customer get a cup of tea?” laughed Mrs. Lester.

“We haven’t quite decided that yet. We want to have it cozy and homey as well as business-like.”

“I’m sure after this reception we will always want to drop in when we are down town,” said Mrs. Lester. “It’s the coziest shop I’ve ever seen.”

So well did their first customers get acquainted with the girls that they knew their plans pretty well and Shirley had been asked to bring her camera to Mrs. Lester’s home and get a series of pictures of her two small children.

“I planned on having a man come out from New York, but I’m very sure you can do as well. The children are apt to be shy with grown ups.”

An appointment was made and as the door closed behind them the four chums dropped into their chairs and stared at each other without speaking. Then Joy came to life with a dance. “Come on Kit, I just have to dance. If I don’t I’ll explode into a million pieces.”

But Shirley was holding the two five-dollar bills in her hand looking at them as if she had never seen such a thing before.

“Girls, you’ve all been so good in helping. Let’s divide this equally between us.”

“Why the idea, Shirley Williams!” exclaimed Bet. “Who made those prints? Who sat up until two o’clock one morning? Did we? We did not. That money belongs to you and no one else.”

“Say girls, that was a good idea about the tea. What made you think of it?” Shirley asked a little later.

“We wanted a share in Shirley’s first sale and that was the only way we could think of getting into it,” smiled Kit.

“It was a good day’s work, young lady!” approved Bet. “For if they hadn’t been drinking tea they wouldn’t have known anything about Shirley’s picture-taking ability and now she has an order.”

The door rattled again and the girls stood up, expecting another customer. But it was better than that. It was Colonel Baxter with a big package in his arms. He had just returned from New York, bringing with him some purchases for the shop.

As soon as he appeared, the girls met him, all talking at once, and drew him to a chair.

“Sit down, Colonel Baxter. I’ll have a cup of tea for you in a minute,” shouted Kit and she and Joy ran to the little electric plate in the back room. “The water is almost hot. It will be ready in less than no time.”

While the two girls were busy preparing the tea, Bet and Shirley told of the doings of the day and Shirley proudly waved the ten dollars in her hand.

“And just see, Colonel Baxter, the first sales in Shirley’s Shop!”

“And I was planning on having that honor myself. I didn’t think you would have anything ready until next week. You’ve done wonders with this old store.”

Colonel Baxter laughed heartily over the description of the boys demanding a handout.

“And here’s another hungry man,” he said. “I hope that tea will soon be ready.”

“We’re coming just in a minute, Colonel Baxter,” called Joy. Then to Kit she said: “I bet he didn’t have a bite of lunch. Let’s fix up some cold chicken and apple fritters for him.”

“Now that’s my idea of afternoon tea,” exclaimed the Colonel, as he settled himself comfortably in an easy chair and seized upon the chicken. “Did you feed your two customers as well?”

“Oh no,” said Kit with great disdain. “With them we were exceedingly polite. We made those little sandwiches, the two for a penny kind, and gave them only tea and cakes besides. That’s all they got.”

“Then it’s all right. I was afraid you might be treating them better than you treated me and I was getting jealous.”

The girls cast many searching glances at the package and finally Bet burst out: “Dad dear, I just can’t wait a minute longer to see what you bought for Shirley’s Shop.”

“Then go and see!” But as all the girls made a rush, he exclaimed, “No, no, not all together. Something will be smashed, sure. Let the boss attend to it.”

Everybody else stood back, but Bet grabbed the package.

“Well, since when are you boss of Shirley’s Shop?” laughed the Colonel. “You forget, you’re only boss of Merriweather Manor.”

Shirley laughed and undid the strong cord and covering of the box, which was filled with excelsior.

“I don’t believe there’s a thing in it,” said Bet. “He’s putting something over on you, Shirley.”

But just then the girl’s fingers touched something and she drew it forth.

“Oh Daddy, how did you know that’s just what we want for our window display?” cried Bet as Shirley held up an exquisite vase and Bet dug her hand into the box and brought forth some vanity cases and other bright objects that the Colonel had chosen.

“How did you ever think of all these lovely things?” said Bet, looking at her father with pride and satisfaction.

“Well, when I went around to the gift shop where I left Shirley’s pictures, I just kept my eyes open.”

“And did you buy them right there?” asked Bet.

“Of course he didn’t! And pay top prices! Colonel Baxter is too good a business man for that and he has the interest of Shirley and Company too much at heart,” protested Shirley.

“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” replied Bet. “One does have to make a profit!”

“Now here you are, Miss Fixit! Here is the bill. I backed you for it and you have two months to pay it.”

“That’s a debt of thirty dollars, and I’ve taken in one-third of that this first afternoon and got an order for maybe fifty dollars worth of photographs. When I once get started I can make a lot of money, taking pictures of children in their homes.”

“Mrs. Lester would make a striking portrait, herself, Shirley,” suggested Bet.

“Don’t think I missed seeing a thing like that. I’ve already posed her in a dozen ways in my mind,” answered Shirley.

“Get it on paper, kid!” laughed Kit.

“You’ve never seen me let any grass grow under my feet, have you?” laughed Shirley.

“No, I haven’t. You don’t talk much, but you do plenty.”

“I’ll need to do plenty, if I’m to make Shirley’s Shop a success,” the girl answered with a happy smile that was full of hope and enthusiasm.

A tap at the door, and another visitor announced himself. He extended his hand at once Co Colonel Baxter.

“How do you do, Mr. Doran,” said Colonel Baxter cordially. “Let me introduce you to Shirley Williams, the proprietor of this shop, and her three friends, Bet Baxter, Joy Evans and Kit Patten.”

Charles Doran bowed with great ceremony to the young girls and then announced his business.

“I am representing a camera company and I’m anxious to have you put in a line of good cameras.”

“Why Shirley, that’s not a bad idea,” exclaimed Bet. “Days when prints are not selling, cameras may. Who knows?”

“But I’m not sure whether we can or not, Mr. Doran. You see we are just starting and we haven’t made any money yet.”

“That’s all right,” replied Mr. Doran. “We’ve heard of this shop opening and we consider it an A-1 opportunity for us, and it will give us a great deal of pleasure to put in some cameras for you on very satisfactory terms.”

Shirley looked toward Colonel Baxter who was enjoying himself, watching the interest of the girls as business details unfolded.

“Sit down, Doran, and have a cup of tea.”

Kit made a dive for the rear room to prepare tea.

“Remember this, girls. If you want to get the best of a bargain, always feed your victim.” This from Colonel Baxter.

Mr. Doran smiled and an hour later when he left, Shirley had consented to put in a display of cameras to be sold on a generous commission.

Shirley’s Shop was progressing and the girls were getting valuable experience as they watched it grow.

Regretfully they bade it good-bye until the following Friday afternoon, when they planned to meet there after school to admire their work and make plans.