"No pulls, eh?"
"You mean——?"
"No friends among the newspaper men?"
"I don't know one. They don't seem to come up here. I wish they would."
"Ever ask one?"
"I don't know any," repeated Tom.
A short laugh, more like a grunt, was Perkins's reply. Tom didn't see what there was to laugh at in the misfortune of having no acquaintance among the writing fellows. He waited eagerly for the next question. It was worth a good deal to him merely to have this outsider show a spark of interest in the fortunes of Boswell's Inn.
"When did you open up?" It came just as he feared Perkins was going to drop the subject.
"The third of June."
"Own the house?"