We did. They had the place fixed up fancy, too, blue and green toy balloons floatin' around the ceilin', a peacock in a big gold cage, tables ranged around the dancin' space, and the trombone artist puttin' his whole soul into a pumpin' out "The Alcoholic Blues." And you could order most anything off the menu, from a poulet casserole to a cheese sandwich. Amby and 'Chita splurged on a cafe parfait and a grape juice rickey. Other dissipated couples at nearby tables were indulgin' in canapes of caviar and frosted sarsaparillas. But shortly after midnight the giddy revellers begun to thin out and the girl waiters got yawny. "How about a round of strawb'ry ice cream sodas; eh, Amby?" I suggests. "No," says he, "I'm no high school girl. I've put away so much of that sweet slush now that I'll be bilious for a week. But say, Torchy, honest to goodness, is Broadway like this all the time now?" "No," says I. "They're goin' to have a Y.W.C.A. convention here next week and I expect that'll stir things up quite a bit." "Sorry," says Amby, "but I shan't be here." "No?" says I. "Pos-i-tively," says Ambrose. "'Chita and I will be on our way back by that time; back to good old Buenos Ayres, where there's more doing in a minute than happens the whole length of Broadway in a month. And listen, old son; when we open a bottle something besides the pop will come out of it." "Better hurry," says I. "Maybe Pussyfoot Johnson's down there now monkeying with the constitution." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SEWELL FORD'S STORIES May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list. SHORTY McCABE. Illustrated by Francis Vaux Wilson. A very humorous story. The hero, an independent and vigorous thinker, sees life, and tells about it in a very unconventional way. SIDE-STEPPING WITH SHORTY. Illustrated by Francis Vaux Wilson. Twenty skits, presenting people with their foibles. Sympathy with human nature and an abounding sense of humor are the requisites for "side-stepping with Shorty." SHORTY McCABE ON THE JOB. Illustrated by Francis Vaux Wilson. Shorty McCabe reappears with his figures of speech revamped right up to the minute. He aids in the right distribution of a "conscience fund," and gives joy to all concerned. SHORTY McCABE'S ODD NUMBERS. Illustrated by Francis Vaux Wilson. These further chronicles of Shorty McCabe tell of his studio for physical culture, and of his experiences both on the East side and at swell yachting parties. TORCHY. Illus, by Geo. Biehm and Jas. Montgomery Flagg. A red-headed office boy, overflowing with wit and wisdom peculiar to the youths reared on the sidewalks of New York, tells the story of his experiences. TRYING OUT TORCHY. Illustrated by F. Foster Lincoln. Torchy is just as deliriously funny in these stories as he was in the previous book.