know enough about this to tell them,” Ted objected.
“There isn’t a whole lot to tell. You’re familiar in a general way with how the stamp plan works, aren’t you?” Ted nodded. “I’ve got samples of my supplies available for anyone who wants them, and I’ll put a few of each in the desk. But don’t try to answer any questions about money, or anything like that. It would be too complicated, and I’d have to go into it myself.”
“Then all you want me to do is answer the phone?” asked Ted, disappointed. He didn’t think there would be very many calls, at least not today, and he saw a long, empty day stretching out ahead of him.
“There’s one other thing,” Mr. Woodring suggested. “You may get an express shipment this morning. I had it addressed to the hotel, since I didn’t know just where I would be opening an office, but I left word there to have it transferred over here. The shipment consists of premiums which we are offering for stamps when they are redeemed. You can open the packages, and then arrange a little display in front of the window. That may arouse the curiosity of passers-by, and if they come in and ask a few questions about the stamps, that will be all to the good. I’ve got some posters here, too, which you can put into the window, but don’t put them up until the shipment arrives. There wouldn’t be any point in having people come in before we’ve got something to show them. The posters will tell people what’s going on. I don’t believe it will be worth while to put any lettering on the door or window for the few weeks we’ll be here. Everything clear?”
“Yes, I think so,” Ted agreed. It surely didn’t sound very complicated.
“Fine. I’m leaving now, and I’ll be back again at three o’clock.”
He picked up his brief case, and with an abrupt nod of his head left the office.
Being alone in a business office would have given Ted a feeling of being in charge of things, except that there wasn’t very much to take charge of. There wasn’t even a typewriter, and all the drawers of the desk except the top one were empty, as he discovered after a quick investigation. Ted wondered what he ought to do. The place didn’t look very presentable and could very well use a sweeping out. In a back closet Ted found a broom and dustpan, among other odds and ends, and went to work, raising a little cloud of dust. When that was finished, he dusted off the desk and chair and returned the utensils to the closet. The window was perfectly clean and bright, and so there seemed nothing more for him to do.
He hadn’t brought a book or magazine with him and considered ducking out for a minute to pick up something to read from the corner drugstore, but decided against it. If someone came in and found him reading, it would look as though they didn’t have very much business—which, alas, was the truth.
No, the best thing to do was to look busy, and he decided he could begin by looking through the samples Mr. Woodring had left. This would at least make him more familiar with their line, and perhaps he could answer questions more intelligently. He was about to start when the telephone man arrived, and for half an hour there was too much interference to allow him to settle back in his chair.
“That’ll do it,” the installation man finally announced, and Ted thanked him. At least having a telephone offered the possibility of something doing.
More dust had arisen in the process, and Ted swept out the office once more. Then he settled back to look over his material. There were a number of empty stamp books on hand—but no stamps. Apparently Mr. Woodring hadn’t wanted to leave any of these lying around. If anyone wanted to know what the stamps looked like, he could find out from the large illustrated posters which were later going to be placed in the window. They showed an enlarged stamp, of the same design Ted had seen the day before, except that the picture looked even more attractive. The details stood out more vividly than they did when the illustration was reduced to less than the size of a postage stamp.
The catalogue showing the premiums to be earned was next to receive Ted’s attention. He ran through it briefly, admiring some of the items shown, and then was distracted by the arrival of an express truck pulling up in front.
There were about a dozen parcels altogether, which was more than Ted had expected, and he helped the expressman carry them in. The largest could be nothing except a bicycle, but Ted had no idea what the others were, and looked forward to opening the packages. After he had signed for the delivery, and the expressman had left, Ted used his pocketknife to cut the stout cords and rip carefully through the wrappings.
He unveiled the bicycle first, and was agreeably surprised. He had seen it pictured in the catalogue, but pictures often look more beautiful than the real thing. This bicycle looked just as fine as the picture, which was saying something. Any boy, including Ted himself if he had been younger, would have been proud and delighted with it.
He began to open the other packages. There was a beautiful doll, elaborately dressed, which would certainly have warmed the heart of any small girl. And there was a portable radio—just the thing for picnics—and a number of household utensils. Whatever reservations Ted had about the stamp plan, he had to admit there was nothing shoddy about these premiums. It was all first-class stuff.
All the wrappings lying on the floor made a pile too large to be fitted in the wastebasket, and Ted carried the trash out the back door and deposited it in a can. Then he was ready to organize his display. The smaller items could be placed in the window, and he arranged them as tastefully as he could. The bicycle, of course, was too large for that, but Ted stood it just behind the window display, where he knew it would be clearly visible from the street. And the posters—Ted found a roll of sticky tape and hung one of them in the window. The other he decided to hang on the office wall, where it would be readily seen by persons coming into the office.
Finally Ted had to sweep out the office for the third time, thinking meanwhile he might end up by joining the janitors’ union. Before he had returned the broom to the closet again, the telephone rang. The caller did not offer to give his name, and refused to make an appointment, although Ted suggested it as strongly as he felt he could. Instead, the man left a number where Mr. Woodring could reach him, and hung up.
Then a few of Ted’s friends happened by, saw him there, and dropped in to see what the score was. They didn’t stay very long, however, and Ted didn’t encourage them to hang around. They inquired a little about the stamp plan, looked over the premiums, then suddenly remembered it was almost time for lunch.
“Don’t make any dates for a week from Saturday night, Ted,” Cliff Corby called over his shoulder as they left.
“Why not? What’s coming off?”
“Don’t know yet. Remember when we took the girls roller skating a couple of weeks ago they said they were planning something in return? They won’t tell us what it is.”
Ted was mildly curious, and glad that there would be another get-together soon. He suddenly realized the summer was going fast, and there wasn’t much time before the fall college season set in. He wondered if he could get Nancy included in the affair. He felt he ought to do something to help her get acquainted in Forestdale, but he didn’t know just how he could work it, as long as the girls were planning the party.
And then the noon whistles began to blow, and Ted wondered what he ought to do for lunch. He hadn’t planned on going home. But while he could easily drop in to a nearby restaurant, he suddenly remembered he didn’t have a key to the front door, and he hated to leave the place open and deserted. The back door could be bolted, he discovered, and he decided to eat at a drugstore across the street, where he could keep an eye on the front door.
Better go now, Ted thought, for very likely Mr. Woodring would
