The Mother Hunt (Rex Stout Library)

She took the overalls, looked at the buttons, and handed them back. They're Aunt Ellen's, all right, she said. Or a darned good imitation. Don't tell me someone told you I was wearing that some place where I worked. It wouldn't fit.

Obviously, I agreed. I showed them to you because you're being very obliging and I thought they might amuse you. I'l1 tell you where I got them if you're curious.

She shook her head. Don't bother. That's one of my many shortcomings, I'm never curious about things that don't matter. I mean matter to me. Maybe you're not either. Maybe you're only curious about buttons. Haven't we had enough about buttons?

Plenty. I returned the overalls to the bag. I'm like you, curious only about things that matter to me. Right now I'm curious about you. What kind of office work do you do?

Oh, I'm very special. Secretarial, highest type. When a private secretary gets married or goes on vacation or gets fired by her boss's wife, and there's no one else around that will do, that's for me. Have you a secretary?

Certainly. She's eighty years old, never takes a vacation, and refuses all offers of marriage, and I have no wife to fire her. Have you got a husband?

No. I had one for a year and that was too long. I didn't look before I leaped, and I'll never leap again.

Maybe you're in a rut, secretarying for important men in offices. Maybe you ought to vary it a little, scientists or college presidents or authors. It might be interesting to work for a famous author. Have you ever thought of trying it?

No, I haven't. I suppose they have secretaries.

Sure they have.

Do you know any?

I know a man who wrote a book about buttons, but he's not very famous. Shall we have a refill?

She was willing. I wasn't, but didn't say so. Expecting nothing more from her at present, I wanted to shake a leg, but she might be useful somehow in the future, and anyway I had given her the impression that she was making an impression, so I couldn't suddenly remember that I was late for an appointment. Another anyway, if one is needed: she was easy to look at and listen to, and if your intelligence is to be guided by experience you have to have experience. There were indications that an invitation to dine might be accepted, but that would have meant the whole evening and would have cost Lucy Valdon at least twenty bucks.