Humorous stories; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Private secretaries -- Fiction
On the way out we sort of revived F. Hallam Bean's memories of Private
Ben Riggs. First off he thought Ben had something to do with the Barbara
Freitchie stunt, or was he the one who jumped off Brooklyn Bridge? But
at last he got it straight. Yes, he remembered having had a picture of
Private Ben tacked up in his studio, only last year. Then we tried him
on Jack Binns, and Sergeant York and Lieutenant Blue and Dr. Cook. He
knew they'd all done something or other to make the first page, but his
guesses were kind of wide.
"I would like to see Private Ben, though," says F. Hallam. "Must be an
interesting chap."
"He is," says Mr. Robert. "His scrap books are interesting, too. He has
ten of them."
"By Jove!" says Hallam. "Good idea. I must tell Myrtle about that."
But after we'd been hailed by this lonesome lookin' party in baggy pants
and the faded blue yachtin' cap, and we'd let him lead us past the stone
foundations where a fine crop of weeds was coming up, and he'd herded
us into his shack and was tryin' to spring a blueprint prospectus on us,
F. Hallam sort of put his foot in his mouth by remarkin':
"So you are Private Ben Riggs, are you?"
"I was--once," says he. "Now I'm just Sand-Lot Riggs. Who are you?"
"Oh, pardon me," puts in Mr. Robert. "I thought you would know. This is
Mr. Hallam Bean, the celebrated founder of the Revertist school of art."
"Oh, yes!" said Riggs. "The one who painted the corset picture ad."
"Soap picture," I corrects hasty, "featurin' the Countess Zecchi."
"That's so, it was soap," admits Riggs. "And I was noticin' in the
mornin' paper how the Countess had decided to drop them suits."
"What?" says Hallam, starin' at him. "Where was that? On the front
page?"
"No," says Riggs. "It was a little item on the inside mixed up with the
obituary notes. That's always the way. They start you on the front page,
and then----" Private Ben shrugs his shoulders. But he proceeds to add
hasty, with a shrewd squint at Hallam: "Course, it's different with you.
Say, how about buyin' the estate here? I'd be willin' to let it go
cheap."
"No, thank you," says F. Hallam, crisp.
"Part of it then," insists Riggs. "I'd been meanin' to write you about
it. I generally do write 'em while--while they're on the front."
"No," says Hallam, and edges toward the door.
He seemed to get the idea. Before he starts back for town that night he
asks Mr. Robert if he could say a word for him at the advertisin'
agency, as he thought it might be just as well if he hung onto the job.
It wasn't such a poor thought, for Hallam fades out of public view a
good deal quicker than he came in.
"Maybe it wasn't Fame that rung him up, after all," I suggests to Mr.
Robert.
He nods. "It might have been her step-sister, Notoriety," says he.
"Just what's the difference?" says I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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