The barman raised his eyebrows and Jason ordered Scotch-and-ginger. “Make it a triple Scotch,” he said, “it will save time.”
The barman looked at him sharply and then turned to his bottles.
The tall man stopped whispering to the egg-yolk blonde and glanced at Jason curiously.
Jason smiled at him. “Do you favour Listerine for infectious dandruff?” he asked pleasantly.
The tall man started. “Dandruff?” he repeated, rather stupidly.
“Sure, dandruff. I understand that the bottle-shaped bacillus known as Pityrosporum Ovale is now considered by leading authorities as the real trouble-maker.” Jason leant forward and removed an invisible hair from the tall man’s coat. “Maybe the subject doesn’t interest you. If that is the case, think no more about it.”
The tall man seemed quite dazed. He said, uneasily, “Please excuse me.” Then he whispered to the egg-yolk blonde, who leant forward and gave Jason a searching look.
Jason smiled at her. “How do you do?” he said. “They tell me that race-horses are to wear straw hats this summer. Absurd, I think, don’t you?”
The tall man and the egg-yolk blonde left the bar. Jason watched them go rather sadly. He said to the barman: “I don’t think I made a big hit with those two, do you?”
The barman put a large glass down before him and splashed in the ginger ale. “It ain’t true about the straw hats, is it, mister?” he asked.