“Come with me to the register and see if our entire party is here. No one will see you, if you walk in front of me, you know,” advised Mr. Dalken.
That seemed to calm Mr. Alexander’s perturbed mind, and he managed to keep well out of sight of his wife as he walked over to the desk. The register showed the names of all the members of the New York party, plus the names of Dodo and her mother, plus a name which filled the whole line—“Honorable Algernon Alfred Alveston, London, England.”
“Huh!” jeered Mr. Alexander. “Now he’s takin’ to callin’ himself an honorable! Wonder if he really comes from London, England, or London, Connecticut?”
Mr. Dalken laughed at the sarcastic look in his friend’s eyes, and he added: “There’s a London in Canada, too, you know.”
“Yeh, I s’pose so!” muttered Mr. Alexander. “Mebbe, afore I get through with A. A. A. he’ll be fixin’ to run away to London, Canada!”
“My dear friend, don’t waste your ire on him,” advised Mr. Dalken. “He’s perfectly harmless, and he keeps your wife engaged in pleasant entertainments. Remember, that allows you more freedom to seek after your own interests.”
“Well, I ain’t so sure about his bein’ harmless!” retorted Mr. Alexander. “He’s after Dodo, you see, and I won’t stand for any monkeyshines in that direction—not even if the Missus swears A. A. A. can pay court to my gal. Dodo is more like me, and she ain’t got use for no prancin’ little scatter-brain like him.”
Having aired his grievance, Mr. Alexander felt better, and Mr. Dalken had no difficulty in persuading him to use the stairway discovered in the corridor outside the smoking room. Thus they would not need to cross the lobby, where Mrs. Alexander and Algy might see any one who came in or went out.
Polly and her friends learned, that night, that Mr. Dalken would have to remain in Gallup for about a week, so this would give the tourists ample time in which to visit such points of interest as Zuñi, Inscription Rock (which is now a National Monument), the Mormon settlement of Ramah, and other sights. Being November, Jack learned that the famous Shalako dance of the Zuñi Indians was to be held that week. Since this is the most interesting of all the amazing Zuñi celebrations, the girls were delighted to find they would be able to see it.
Mrs. Alexander had been silenced by her fiasco at the hotel hop in Albuquerque, and its effects had made her show more friendliness towards Jack, but she still thought that he should be made to fetch and carry for Mr. Dalken’s companions, so she felt no compunction in asking him to do errands for her.