Mazie looked at him coldly, then her gaze flicked down the counter to the gorgeous brunette who was still smiling seductively at Howie.
“Why don’t you ask her?” she snapped. “She seems to be interested in oddities in the news.”
Crushed and miserable Howie listlessly went on with his work. In his benumbed condition he slapped sandwiches together automatically, too miserable to think of anything but the hopelessness of his condition. A glamorous witch who wouldn’t leave him alone and who was souring Mazie on him even more than ever. Which was quite a lot, he was forced to admit dolefully.
The store was filling up with customers, he noticed lackadaisically.
Most of them however, he noticed, were not buying anything, but merely clogging up the aisles and counters staring and oogling the bewitchingly beautiful brunette who was perched provocatively on the end stool. He risked a hasty glance at her.
Her smile widened as she caught his eye and she winked at him, coyly and intimately.
Howie dropped his eyes to the sandwich board and groaned.
Things were terrible. They couldn’t get any worse.
In that he was mistaken.
Suddenly from one of the tables in the rear of the store an enraged bellow sounded. It was like a rogue elephant trumpeting defiance in the jungle, or a maddened bull roaring at a red flag. Only it was worse because it was “Stormy” Potterson of Colossal Films.
“I won’t stand for it,” Potterson was bellowing lustily and Howie could see his huge, red-faced figure lumbering toward the front of the store.
“I’ll break whomever’s responsible for this,” he shouted. “It’s one thing I will not stand tampering with.”
He shoved his way through the bugeyed crowd at the counter and pointed a fat finger at Howie.
“Young man,” he said at the top of his voice, “did you make my sandwich? Answer me yes or no, and don’t try and pass the buck.”
Howie swallowed nervously, then squared his shoulders.
“I won’t do any buck passing,” he said, “I made it.”
“Oh did you?” Potterson almost howled. “And you admit it, brazenly and impudently.”
He suddenly lifted his arm and extended a soppy object toward Howie.
“And did you put this in it?” he exploded.
Howie’s eye’s widened in horror as he recognized the object in Potterson’s hand. It was the flat sponge he used in swabbing up the sandwich board. His eyes flashed to the receptacle where it should have been, but the receptacle was quite empty.
And the receptacle was just next to the ham plate!
He knew in one horrified second what had happened. He had stuck the sponge in Potterson’s sandwich while he was brooding over his troubles.
“Well!” Potterson shouted the word. “Did you put it in my sandwich or didn’t you?”
Howie opened his mouth, but he didn’t get a chance to speak. For the mysterious brunette stepped into the picture at that instant. She stepped alongside Potterson and tapped him on the shoulder. Her pale cheeks were touched with spots of color and her eyes flashed like twin beacons of fury.
“You can’t talk like that to him,” she said softly. “No one can in my presence. Do you understand?”
“Who says—” Potterson began to bluster, but he suddenly lost his voice as he looked at the dark-haired girl. For fully a minute he sputtered helplessly, and then he wiped his damp forehead with a trembling hand.
“Let’s go somewhere where we can talk,” he said weakly. “I’m Potterson of Colossal Films.” His eyes traveled over the girl’s beauty with the swiftness of the experienced showman. “I’m sure I can make you an offer that you would find acceptable.”
“I am not interested in offers,” the girl said. “Only your apology to my friend.”
“Sure,” Potterson said eagerly. “We all make mistakes.” He waved genially to Howie who was watching the scene with his mouth open a full three inches. “Forget it son. Sorry I lost my head.”
He turned back to the dark-haired girl.
“My company,” he said rapidly, “is the largest in the business. We can give you the build-up you need. I can practically guarantee you stardom inside of six months.”
The dark-haired girl smiled languorously.
“That’s what the other gentleman said. He also said his company was the largest. But he promised me stardom in three months.”
“Who’re you talking about?” Potterson snapped shrewdly.
“The gentleman from Superba Films,” the dark-haired girl said innocently. “I might add that his offer was extremely interesting.”
Potterson mopped his brow. He took another searching look at the girl, appraising her eyes, her hair, her figure. She stood before him like something from Heaven, but amused and scornful.
Potterson snapped his fingers.
“I’ll double his offer,” he barked. “Whatever it was I’ll double it.”
“It isn’t up to me to decide,” the dark-haired girl answered.
“You got an agent?” Potterson demanded.
The dark-haired girl nodded her beautiful head.
“I wouldn’t make any decision unless he told me it was acceptable to him. I trust him implicitly. He’s more than an agent to me. He’s everything!”
“Who is he?” Potterson demanded hoarsely.
“You were shouting at him a minute ago,” the dark-haired girl answered coldly. She wheeled dramatically and pointed straight at Howie Lemp.
“Talk to him,” she said softly, her eyes shining. “The decision is for him to make, for I am his, body and soul!”
A dish of deviled eggs crashed to the floor with a loud clatter. A second later it was joined by the limp body of Howie Lemp!
When Howie Lemp came around, he opened his eyes and discovered that he was resting against the luxurious cushions of a swiftly traveling limousine. Startled, he attempted to sit up, but a hand on each of his shoulders pushed him back against the cushions.
“Nothing to get excited about,” a rumbling voice said.
Howie turned and saw “Stormy” Potterson on one side of him and a sharp-featured, snappily dressed middle aged man on the other. Both of the jump seats of the big car were occupied. One very fat man and one very skinny man had their backs to him.
“W-what’s it all about?” Howie asked bewilderedly.
“You’re a sly fox,” Potterson laughed with false heartiness. “Getting a contract on that young lady in the drug store and now pretending you don’t know what we want.”
“What do you want?” Howie asked wildly.
“Don’t get excited,” Potterson said soothingly. “Our price will be the best you can get. After you fainted in the store the young lady disappeared in the crowd, but she had already told us that we had to deal through you. So that’s what we’re doing. Got your boarding house address from one of the clerks at the store and we’re heading there now to draw up the papers. Just relax. We’ll treat you right.”
“You’re all crazy,” Howie said desperately, “I haven’t any contract on anybody. Let me out of this car. I’ve got to get back to the store.”
“I gotta hand it to you,” Potterson chuckled, “you’re going to keep up the act to the end aren’t you? But we might as well put the cards on the table. You’ve got us over a barrel, I don’t mind telling you. We’ve got to get that girl before Superba does. Why she’ll be the most terrific thing that ever hit the picture business. We can’t let her get away. So all you have to do is name the price and we’ll meet it if we have t.9 mortgage my false teeth to do it.”
Howie stared about frantically. Was everybody going crazy? What had he done that deserved punishment like this? With every fibre of lanky body he longed for the orderly bustle of Rupp’s Drug Store and the exhilarating presence of Mazie Slatter.