Torchy

I FOUND MYSELF LOOKING SQUARE INTO THEM BIG GRAY EYES. (Frontispiece)
Made in the United States of America
Copyright, 1909, 1910, by SEWELL FORD
COPYRIGHT, 1911, by EDWARD J. CLODE

Sure, I was carryin' the banner. But say, I ain't one of them kids that gets callouses on the hands doin' it. When I'm handed the fresh air on payday, I don't choke to death over it. I goes out and rustles for another job. And I takes my pick, too. Why not? It's just as easy.
This time I gets a bug that the new Octopus Buildin' might have been put up special for me. Anyway, it looked good from the outside, and I blows in through the plate glass merry go round. The arcade was all to the butterscotch, everything handy, from an A. D. T. stand to Turkish baths in the basement.
Got any express elevators? says I to the starter guy.
Think of buying the buildin', sonny? says he.
There'd be room for you on the sidewalk if I did, says I. But say, if you can tear your eyes off the candy counter queen long enough, tell me who's got a sign out this mornin'.
They're going to elect a second vice-president of the Interurban to-day. Would that suit you? says he, twistin' up his lip whisker and lookin' cute.