Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew by The Twin Dilemma Page B

for the secretarial jobs?” she asked.
    “Were they the ones advertised in the paper?” George replied with an air of confidence.
    “Yes.”
    “Then those are the ones we’re interested in,” George said, causing Bess to gulp.
    “Fine. Please follow me, if you will,” the woman responded.
    She motioned them toward a table and asked them to fill out applications. Then, with only a brief glance at the forms, led them toward a room with a desk and typewriter.
    “I have some material for you to type,” she said. “I can see from your applications that you don’t have much prior experience.”
    “None,” Bess murmured to herself.
    “Even so, I don’t mind giving young talent a chance,” the interviewer went on. “If you pass this test, we’ll move on to the next one.”
    Next one! The cousins moaned. How many hurdles would they have to overcome before the company would hire them?
    “Now, who wants to go first?” the woman inquired.
    George offered instantly, but the confidence she exuded was short-lived as she stared at a mass of information she was instructed to type in orderly fashion.
    “I’ll shut the door,” the woman told her, “so no one will disturb you.”
    For a moment, George froze in front of the typewriter. Then she set her fingers on the keys, pressing out a few words slowly and carefully until she was able to pick up speed. But as the words fell on the paper in rapid succession, she stopped paying close attention. It wasn’t until she had finished one page of work that she realized what she had done! By mistake, she had typed most of it in capital letters and put in wrong punctuation!
    “Oh, no!” She gasped in horror. “I’ve ruined it!”
    She tore out the paper, slipping another one in place, racing to make up for lost time. But the keys jammed.
    “It’s no use!” George cried aloud, as the door opened.
    “How are you doing?” the personnel manager inquired pleasantly.
    “I’m not doing well at all,” the girl admitted, pushing back her chair.
    “You’re not giving up, are you?”
    George never liked being called a quitter, but she realized that she wasn’t qualified for a secretarial job. Neither was Bess, who, meanwhile, had looked at magazines, including the current Chalmers catalog.
    Remembering the page Mr. Reese had taken from another copy, she hunted for it and again studied the lovely gowns. When she saw the personnel manager coming out of the room with George, she had a sudden inspiration.
    “These pictures are just beautiful,” she said to the woman. “Do you know who photographed those gowns?”
    The woman looked at the catalog. “Most of this collection, including those dresses, were done by Chris Chavez,” she responded. “Doesn’t he have a terrific flair?”
    Bess nodded. She was as flabbergasted as George. Was Chris Chavez, Mr. Reese’s personal friend, an accomplice to the thefts?

11
    Puzzling Information
    Meanwhile, Nancy had filled out an application at Millington. When the manager, whose name according to a sign on his desk was T. Iannone, reviewed it, he looked at her closely.
    “So you want a job, eh? I think, Miss Drew, it’s more likely you’re here to snoop!”
    His biting remark hit Nancy unexpectedly, and she decided to tell him the truth. “Could we speak privately?” she suggested, glancing at a nearby secretary who was pretending not to listen, but Nancy could see she was interested in the conversation.
    “This way,” the manager said, leading Nancy into an inner office. “I happen to know that you were Jacqueline Henri’s replacement in the fashion show the other night—and that Richard Reese has asked you to help track down a dress thief. News travels fast in this business.”
    “Yes, I can see that.” The girl detective knew it wouldn’t help to disguise her motive for being at Millington’s and went straight to the point. “How do you explain the fact that copies of Mr. Reese’s original dresses turned up in your