The
children made their dejeuner with Sir Tancred and Lord Crosland, and
after it, having restored the reluctant Blazer to his lodging in the
basement of the hotel, they took the train to Nice.
Tinker hired the largest commissionaire at the station and bought a
small trunk, which he gave him to carry. Then he went straight to
Madame Aline's and, having insisted on seeing Madame herself, explained
that the bright and elaborate fashions affected by the little French
girls would not suit Elsie.
Madame agreed with him, but said, "Simplicity is so expensive."
Tinker waved away the consideration, and showed Madame the
thousand-franc note. At once she fell a victim to his irresistible
charm, and set about meeting his taste with the liveliest energy, with
the result that in less than an hour Elsie was provided with an evening
frock of an exquisite shade of heliotrope, an afternoon frock of no
less exquisite shade of blue, and a hat, stockings, and gloves to
match. They were packed in the trunk, and with them two pairs of
shoes, which Madame sent for from a no less expensive bootmaker, and
various other garments.
When they came out of her shop, Tinker considered for a while the hole
he had made in the thousand-franc note, and said, "The time has come to
be economical.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164