Instead of plunging over the traces, however, Chick turned to the clerk and remarked:
“I see that Mr. and Mrs. Brooks are here, from Washington.”
“Yes, they arrived this morning,” said the clerk, smiling.
“Are they frequent visitors?”
“Well, quite so.”
“Not strangers, then?”
“Oh, no; they are here each month, and sometimes more frequently.”
Chick took a blank card from a tray and wrote a fictitious name on it, adding that of a leading newspaper.
“Send this up to their suite, please,” he requested. “They may like to be mentioned in the society notes.”
“Yes, certainly,” nodded the clerk. “Front! To 710.”