"Why—er—thanks," says the Captain; "but I have a little business to attend to in here." And he nods to an office buildin'.
"That'll be all right, too," says I. "I'll wait."
"Will you?" says Rupert, beamin'. "I shall be pleased."
So in less'n half an hour I have Rupert planted cozy at a corner table with a mixed grill in front of him, and I'm givin' him the cue for openin' any confidential chat he may have on hand. He's a good deal of a clam, though, Rupert. And suspicious! He must have been born lookin' over his shoulder. But in my own crude way I can sometimes josh 'em along.
"Excuse me for mentionin' it, Rupert," says I, "but there's lots of class to you these days."
"Eh?" says he. "You mean——"
"The whole effect," says I, "from the gaiters to the new-model lid. Just like you'd strolled out from some Fifth Avenue club and was goin' to 'phone your brokers to buy another block of Bethlehem at the market. Honest!"
He pinks up and shakes his head, but I can see I've got the range.
"And here Vee and I had it doped out," I goes on, "how you'd be down on the West Coast by this time, investin' your pile in orange groves and corner lots."
"No," says Rupert; "I've been here all the while. You see, I—I've grown rather fond of New York."