“I’ll call for a report,” says I.
Does Sadie know anything about the Marstons? Well, rather! Says she told me all about ’em at the time too; but if she did it must have got by. Anyway, this was just a plain, simple case of a worthless son marryin’ the fam’ly governess and bein’ thrown out for it by a stern parent, same as they always are in them English novels Sadie’s forever readin’.
The Marstons was Madison-ave. folks, which means that their back yard was bounded on the west by the smart set—and that’s as far as there’s any need of going. The girl comes from ’Frisco and is an earthquake orphan. Hence the governess stunt. As for young Marston, he’d been chucked out of college, tried out for a failure in the old man’s brokerage office, and then left to drift around town on a skimpy allowance. So he was in fine shape to get married! The girl sticks to him, though, until there’s trouble with the landlady, and then, when he only turns ugly and makes no move towards gettin’ a job, she calls it off, gives him the slip, and begins rustlin’ for herself.
“Oh, well,” says Pinckney, “I suppose she ought to have a chance. But if that husband of hers is going to——”
“Next time you catch him at it,” says I, “just ’phone down for me. It’ll be a pleasure.”
I meant it too; for after hearing how she’d lost other places on account of his hangin’ around I could have enjoyed mussin’ him up some.
With my feelin’ that way, you can guess what a jar it is, one afternoon when I’m having a little front office chat with my old reg’lar, Pyramid Gordon, to see this same gent blow in through the door. Almost looked like he knew what he ought to get and had come after it.
“Well?” says I as chilly as I knew how.
“Quite so,” says he, “quite so. I see you remember our recent meeting. Awkward situation for a moment, wasn’t it, eh? Splendid chap, though, your friend——”
“Say, choke off the hot air,” says I, “and let’s hear what gave you the courage to climb those stairs!”