He stayed another half hour, and the conversation never swerved from the entertaining subject of reform. Mr. Mix was insufferably bored, and cumulatively restless, but he was convinced that he was making headway, so that he kept his mind relentlessly on the topic, and dispensed honey by the shovelful. When he prepared to leave, he tested out his conviction, and reminded her gently: “Now, in regard to that note––”
Mirabelle was blinded by her own visionings, and deafened by her own eloquence. “Well, we’ll have to take that up again––But you come to the meeting Tuesday, anyhow. And here’s one of our pamphlets for you to look at in the meantime.”
As he went down the steps, she was watching 74 him, from the ambush of lace window-curtains, and she was saying to herself: “Such a nice man––so influential, too.... Now if I could get him persuaded over––”
Mr. Mix, strolling nonchalantly downtown, was also talking to himself, and his conclusions would have astonished her. “What I’ve got to do,” said Mr. Mix, thoughtfully, “is to string the old dame along until I can raise five thousand bucks. But where’s it coming from?”
Then, squarely in front of the Orpheum Theatre, he met Henry Devereux.
“Good-morning, Henry,” said Mr. Mix, soberly. “First time I’ve had a chance to speak to you since....” He coughed discreetly. “I don’t believe I need to say that if there’s anything I can do for you at any time, all you’ve got to do is to say so.”
Privately, Henry had always considered Mr. Mix as a genial poseur, but he knew that Mr. Mix belonged to the Citizens Club, which was 75 the local standard, and that for thirty years he had been on rather intimate business relations with Mr. Starkweather. This was sufficient recommendation for Henry, in the swirl of his agitation, to loose his tongue.
“All right,” he said. “Tell me how soon I can sell this overgrown magic-lantern outfit––and what I can get for it––and where I can put the money to bring in the biggest income––and where I can get a good job.”
Now all this was intended to be purely in the nature of a rhetorical question: for naturally, if Henry decided to sell, he would want Bob Standish to handle the transaction for him, and to get the commission: and also, if Henry had to find employment, he would go to his friend, and be sure of a cordial reception. But Mr. Mix took it literally.