"He"s nearly twenty-one," says Sadie. "And Mrs. Hollister"s such a dear!"
"All of which leads up to what?" says I, tearin" my eyes from the sportin" page reluctant.
"Why," says Sadie, cuddlin" up on the chair arm, "Purdy-Pell suggests that, as Robin appeared to take such a fancy to you, perhaps you wouldn"t mind----"
"Say," I breaks in, "he"s a perfectly punk suggester! I"d mind a lot!"
Course that opened the debate, and while I begins by statin" flat-footed that Robin could come or go for all I cared, it ends in the usual compromise. I agrees to take the eight-forty-five into town and skirmish for Sonny. He"d be almost sure to show up at Purdy-Pell"s to-night, Sadie says, and if I was on hand I might induce him to quit wreckin" the city and be good.
"Shouldn"t I wear a nurse"s cap and ap.r.o.n?" I remarks as I grabs my hat.
For, honest, so far as I"ve ever seen, this young Hollister was a nice, quiet, peaceable chap, with all the earmarks of a perfect gent. He"d been brought up from the South and put into Purdy-Pell"s offices, and he"d made a fair stab at holdin" down his job. But of course, bein"
turned loose in New York for the first time, I expect he went out now and then to see what was goin" on under the white lights.
From some youngsters that might have called for such panicky protests as Mother and Mrs. Purdy-Pell put up; but young Robin had a good head on him, and didn"t act like he meant to develop into a rounder. Course I didn"t hear the details; but all of a sudden something happened that caused a grand howl. I know Sadie was consulted, then Mrs. Hollister was sent for, and it ended by Robin marchin" into the studio one mornin" to say good-by. He explains that he"s bein" shipped home. They"d got a job for him with an uncle out in the country somewhere. That must have been a year or so ago, and now it looked like he"d slipped his halter and had headed back for Broadway.
I finds Purdy-Pell peeved and sarcastic. "To be sure," he says, "I feel honored that the young man should make my house his headquarters whenever his fancy leads him to indulge his sportive instincts. Youth must be served, you know. But Mrs. Hollister has such a charmingly unreasonable way of holding me responsible for her son"s conduct! And since she happens just now to be our guest--well, you get the idea, McCabe."
"What do you think he"s up to?" says I.
Purdy-Pell shrugs his shoulders. "If he were the average youth, one might guess," says he; "but Robin Hollister is different. His mother is a Pitt Medway, one of the Georgia Medways."
"You don"t say!" says I. I expect I ought to know just how a Georgia Medway differs from a New Jersey Medway, or the Connecticut brand; but, sad to say, I don"t. Purdy-Pell, though, havin" been raised in the South himself, seems to think that everyone ought to know the traits of all the leadin" fam"lies between the Potomac and the Chattahoochee.
"Last time, you know," goes on Purdy-Pell, "it was a Miss Maggie Toots, a restaurant cashier, and a perfectly impossible person. We broke that up, though."
"Ye-e-es?" says I.
"Robin"s mother seemed to think then," says he, "that it was largely my fault. I suppose she"ll feel the same about whatever mischief he"s in now. If I could only find the young scamp! But really I haven"t time.
I"m an hour late at the Boomer Days" as it is."
"Then toddle along," says I. "If I"m unanimously elected to do this kid-reformin" act, I expect I might as well get busy."
So as soon as the butler"s through loadin" Purdy-Pell into the limousine I cross-examines Jarvis about young Mr. Hollister"s motions. Yes, he"d shown up at the house both nights. It might have been late, perhaps quite late. Then this afternoon he"d "phoned to have his evenin" clothes sent uptown by messenger. No, he couldn"t remember the number, or the name of the hotel.
"Ah, come, Jarvis!" says I. "We know you"re strong for the young man, and all that. But this is for the best. Dig it up now! You must have put the number down at the time. Where"s the "phone pad?"
He produces it, blank. "You see, Sir," says he, "I tore off the leaf and gave it to the messenger."
"But you"re a heavy writer, ain"t you?" says I. "Find me a readin"
gla.s.s."
And, sure enough, by holdin" the pad under the big electrolier in the lib"ry, we could trace out the address.
"Huh!" says I. "The Maison Maxixe, one of them new trot palaces! Ring up a taxi, Jarvis."
Didn"t happen to be up around there yourself that night, did you? If you had, you couldn"t missed seein" him,--the old guy with the Dixie lid and the prophet"s beard, and the snake-killer staff in his fist,--for with that gold and green entrance as a background, and in all that glare of electric lights, he was some prominent.
Sort of a cross between Father Time and Santa Claus, he looks like, with his b.u.mper crop of white alfalfa, his rosy cheeks, and his husky build.
Also he"s attired in a wide-brimmed black felt hat, considerable dusty, and a long black coat with a rip in the shoulder seam. I heard a couple of squabs just ahead of me giggle, and one of "em gasps:
"Heavings, Lulu! Will you lamp the movie grandpop! I wonder if them lambrequins are real?"
She says it loud enough to be heard around on Broadway, and I looks to see how the old boy takes it; but he keeps right on beamin" mild and sort of curious at the crowds pushin" in. It was them calm, gentle old blue eyes of his, gazin" steady, like he was lookin" for someone, that caught me. First thing, I knew he was smilin" folksy straight at me, and liftin" one hand hesitatin", as if he wanted to give me the hail.
"Well, old scout?" says I, haltin" on the first step.
"Excuse me, Neighbor," says he, drawlin" it out deep and soft, "but be yo" goin" in thayah?"
"I don"t say it boastin"," says I, "but that was the intention."
"We-e-e-ell," he drawls, half chucklin", half sing-songy, "I wisht I could get you to kind of look around for a young fellah in thayah,--sort of a well favored, upstandin" young man, straight as a cornstalk, and with his front haiah a little wavy. Would you?"
"I might find fifty that would answer to that description," says I.
"No, Suh, I reckon not," says he, waggin" his n.o.ble old head. "Not fifty like him, nor one! He"ll have his chin up, Suh, and there"ll be a twinkle in his brown eyes you can"t mistake."
"Maybe so," says I. "I"ll scout around a bit. And if I find him, what then?"
"Jes" give him the word, Neighbor," says he, "that Uncle Noah"s a waitin" outside, wantin" to see him a minute when he gets through.
He"ll understand, Robin will."
"Eh?" says I. "Robin who?"
"Young Mistuh Hollister I should say, Suh," says he.
"Well, well!" says I, gawpin" at him. "You lookin" for Robin Hollister too? Why, so am I!"
"Then we ought to find him between us, hadn"t we?" says he, smilin"
friendly. "Lott"s my name, Suh."
"Wha-a-at!" says I, grinnin" broad as the combination strikes me. "Not Uncle Noah Lott?"
"It"s a powerful misleadin" name, I got to admit," says he, returnin"
the grin; "but I reckon my folks didn"t figure jes" how it was goin" to sound when they tacked the Noah onto me, or else they didn"t allow for my growin" up so simple. But I"ve had it so long I"m used to it, and so is most everyone else down in my part of Jawgy."
"Ah!" says I. "Then you"re from Georgia, eh? Down where they sent Robin, I expect?"
"That"s right," says he. "I"m from Goober."
"Goober!" I echoes. "Say, that"s a choice one too! No wonder Robin couldn"t stand it! Sent you up to fetch him back, did they?"
"No, Suh," says he. "Mistuh Phil Hollister didn"t send me at all. I jes"
come, Suh, and I can"t say if I"m goin" to carry him back or no. You see it"s like this: Robin, he"s a good boy. We set a heap by him, we do.
And Robin was doin" well, keepin" the bale books, lookin" after the weighin", and takin" general charge around the cotton gin. Always had a good word for me in the mornin" when I hands over the keys, me bein"
night watchman, Suh. "Well, Uncle Noah," it would be, "didn"t let anybody steal presses, did you?" "No, Mistuh Robin," I"d say, "didn"t lose nary press last night, and only part of the smokestack." We was that way, me and Robin. And when Mistuh Phil and his folks started off to visit their married daughter, up in Richmond, he says to me, "Uncle Noah, I expect you to look after Robin while I"m gone, and see that he don"t git into no trouble." Them was his very words, Suh."
"And Robin"s kept you busy, eh?" says I.