Not all the skilled musicians were transients. The Anthony Trio, piano, violin and cello, might have graced the program on many a notable occasion, yet here they were, night after night, sending out over the ether their skillful renditions of the best that other times have produced in the realm of music.
Dorothy Anthony, the violinist, a short, vivacious girl with a well rounded figure and dancing blue eyes, seemed no older than Johnny himself. Many a talk, gay and serious, they had, for Dorothy took her outdoor adventures at second hand. She listened and exclaimed over Johnny’s experiences in strange lands, and insisted more than once upon his demonstrating his skill by shooting at the magazines with his bow and arrow.
As for his bow, it stood so long in the corner that it seemed certain that it would dry out and become too brittle for real service in emergency.
Though Johnny enjoyed the company of the great and the near-great, he found most satisfaction in his association with a certain humble individual who occupied a small space before the switchboard at the foot of the stairs. And that person was none other than Rosy Ramacciotti. Since Johnny had been told that Rosy was in need of work, he had hastened to secure this position for her.
He had thought at first, because of her father’s most unhappy death, she, too, might be afraid. When he suggested this to her he was astonished by the snapping of her black eyes as she exclaimed:
“Me afraid? No! I am Italian. Did you not know that? We Italians, we are many things. Afraid? Never!”
So Rosy presided at the switchboard. Each night, during the hour that preceded Rosy’s departure and Johnny’s taking up of his duties, they enjoyed a chat about many, many things.
Nor did Drew Lane object; for, as he one night explained to Johnny, his relations with the Ramacciottis were based on little more than a charitable desire to be of service to someone.
“You have heard, I suppose,” he said to Johnny one evening, “that there is a society that looks after the families of policemen who lose their lives in the service. That is a splendid enterprise.
“There are also many societies in existence that take care of the interests of criminals and their families. That too, I suppose, is all right.