It was called "The Bandbox": its
woodwork was painted bright green, and in the window were three hats.
"Now then," he exclaimed, slowing down, "this, I take it, is where motor
bonnets grow. At any rate we'll get down and see."
"What a lark!" cried Timmy delightedly. "Please, _please_ Betty, don't
make yourself disagreeable--don't be a 'govvey'!"
And Betty, not wishing to be a "govvey," got out of the car.
"But I've no money with me," she began.
"I wouldn't let you pay for what's going to be a present," said Radmore
shortly. "You're the only inhabitant of Old Place to whom I haven't given
a present since I've been home."
Home? It gave Betty such pleasure to hear him call it that.
They all three marched into the tiny shop where the owner of "The
Bandbox," described by Timmy to his mother, later, as a "rather
spidery-looking, real lady," sat sewing.
She received them with a mixture of condescension and pleasure at the
thought of a new customer, which diverted Radmore, who was new to the
phenomenon of the lady shopkeeper. But when it came to business, she
took a very great deal of trouble, bringing out what seemed, at the time,
the whole of her considerable stock, for "The Bandbox" was cleverly lined
with deep, dust-proof cupboards.
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