"Good night. See you tomorrow."
She climbed the stairs wearily. She was tired. Men had a knack for bringing up new troublesome ideas just when a girl was tired. These halls were dirty. It would be nice to pick a brand-new apartment of her very own. There were at least a dozen new buildings in Inwood. Clean halls, stippled walls. Oh, well, she had practically promised the Friedrichs that she'd one-third on everything. It wouldn't be fair to quit them.
She opened the door quietly. Sylvia and Rose were always in bed when she came home. Tonight was an exception. Lillian saw the light in the living-room as she stepped across the threshold.
"Hello," she said.
The girls answered her, but she went to her room and took off her hat and cape, preferring not to join them.
Rose came to the door and knocked. "Can I come in, Lillian?"
"Come ahead."
Rose was wearing a bright yellow satin kimono with large red roses scattered upon it. Sylvia was at her heels, clad in pongee pajamas.
"We mightn't get a chance to talk in the morning," Rose began. "We're going out early with some friends. So we waited up for you. It's terribly late, so if I speak quickly and get it over with I hope you won't mind."
Lillian looked at her wonderingly. "Fire away," she said.
"Well, it's like this. Maybe you've noticed the new apartments that have been going up? Well, Sylvia and
