Humorous stories; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Private secretaries -- Fiction
Why, I kind of enjoyed my little part, which consists in hurryin' out to
the gate with my right forefinger up and a confidential smirk wreathin'
my more or less classic features.
"Right this way, Mr. Schott," says I.
He shrugs his shoulders, shoots over a glance of scornful contempt, like
a room clerk in a tourist hotel would give to a guest who's payin' only
$20 or $30 a day, and shoves past Vincent with his chin up. Judgin' by
the name and complexion and all there must have been a lot of noble
Prussian blood in this Schott person, for the Clown Prince himself
couldn't have done the triumphal entry any better. And I expect I put
considerable flourish into the business when I announces him to Dowd,
omittin' careful to call the Hon. Matt, by name.
Schott aint wastin' any precious minutes. Before Dowd can say a word
he's started in on his spiel. As I'm makin' a slow exit I manages to get
the openin' lines. They was good, too.
"As you may know," begins Schott, "I represent the International
Historical Committee. Owing to the recent death of prominent members we
have decided to fill those vacancies by appointment and your name has
been mentioned as----"
Well, you know how it goes. Only this was smooth stuff. It was a shame
to have it all spilled for the benefit of Matthew Dowd, who can only
think of one thing these days--250-yard tee shots and marvelous mid-iron
pokes that always sail toward the pin. Besides, I kind of wanted to see
how a super-book agent would work.
Openin' the private office door easy I finds Old Hickory has settled
back in his swing chair and is lightin' a fresh Fumadora satisfied. So I
slips in, salutes respectful and jerks my thumb toward the directors'
room.
"I've put a sub. on the job, sir," says I.
"Eh?" says he. "Oh, yes. Who did you find?"
"A suspicious young stranger," says I. "I sicced him and Mr. Dowd on
each other. They're at it now. It's likely to be entertainin'."
Old Hickory nods approvin' and a humorous flicker flashes under them
bushy eyebrows of his. "Let's hear how they're getting along," says he.
So I steps over sleuthy and swings the connectin' door half way open,
which not only gives us a good view but brings within hearin' range this
throaty conversation which Mr. Schott is unreelin' at high speed.
"You see, sir," he's sayin', "this monumental work covers all the great
crises of history, from the tragedy on Calvary to the signing of the
peace treaty at Versailles. Each epoch is handled by an acknowledged
master of that period, as you may see by this table of contents."
Here Mr. Schott produces from somewhere inside his coat a half pound or
so of printed pages and shoves them on Dowd.
"The illustrations," he goes on, "are all reproduced in colors by our
new process, and are copies of famous paintings by the world's greatest
artists. There are to be more than three hundred, but I have here a few
prints of these priceless works of art which will give you an idea."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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