of a thousand of 'em trying to kid you—their approach doesn't vary two words. But this one gave me a mild thrill and even a mild thrill is interesting on a job as dreary as a hotel switchboard.
Well, to make a short story long, he phoned me every morning for the next week and made personal appearances every afternoon till Jerry Murphy had him pegged for a pickpocket and would have collared him on his third appearance if I hadn't interfered. I won't get near as many flowers when I'm dead and gone as I did the following week from the mysterious stranger and candy flowed like water. He also gave me a book of near poetry called "The Ruby Yacht of Omar Kyam" which I thought is a lot of apple sauce, but I tell him it's elegant as from the binding it must of cost plenty pennies.
Invitations to shows, auto rides, lunches, dinners, cabarets, ball games and requests to go to about everything else but murder trials were fairly showered on me by this dizzy youth and from the program he offered I could of gone out with him every day for the next ten years and never visited the same place twice! Still, I continue to plead a headache, as I am commencing to like this young daredevil and stalling is one way to keep their interest at fever heat. Then he made all his other moves look reasonable in comparison by moving right into the Hotel St. Moe.
