That oily-tongued , persuasive , soft-stepping stranger in the rusty Prince Albert and the black string tie who had been wont to haunt
our 3
back steps and
front offices 6
with
his 5
carefully wrapped bundle
5 , retreated in bewildered defeat before the clanging blows of steel on steel that meant the erection of the first twenty-story skyscraper 7
.
" As slick , " we 3
used to say , " as a lightning-rod agent 8
. "
Of what use his 5
wares on a building whose tower was robed in clouds and which used the chain lightning for a necklace 7
?
The Fourth Avenue 10
antique dealer
9 had another curio to add to his 9
collection of andirons , knockers , snuff boxes and warming pans .
But even as this quaint figure 9
vanished there sprang up a new and glittering one to take his 9
place .
He 11
stood framed in the great plate-glass window of the very building which had brought about the defeat of
7 .
A miracle of close shaving his 11
face was , and a marvel of immaculateness his 11
linen .
Dapper he 11
was , and dressy , albeit inclined to glittering effects and a certain plethory at the back of the neck .
Back of him 11
stood shining shapes that reflected his 11
glory in enamel , and brass , and glass .
His 11
language was floral , but choice ; his 11
talk was of gearings and bearings and cylinders and magnetos ; his 11
method differed from that of him 11
who went before as the method of a skilled aƫronaut 12
differs from that of the man who goes over
Niagara 14
in a barrel
13 .
And as he 11
multiplied and spread over the land 15
we 3
coined a new figure of speech .
" Smooth ! " we 3
chuckled .
" As smooth as an automobile salesman 16
. "
But even as we 3
listened , fascinated by his 11
fluent verbiage there grew within us 3
a certain resentment .
Familiarity with his 11
glittering wares bred a contempt of them , so that he 11
fell to speaking of them as necessities instead of luxuries .
He 11
juggled figures , and thought nothing of four of them in a row .
We 3
looked at our 3
five-thousand-dollar salary , so strangely shrunken and thin now , and even as we 3
looked we 3
saw that the method of the unctuous , anxious stranger 11
had become antiquated in its turn .
Then from his 11
ashes emerged a new being 17
.
Neither urger 18
nor spellbinder 19
he 17
.
The twentieth century was stamped across his 17
brow , and on his 17
lips was ever the word " Service . "
Silent , courteous , watchful , alert , he 17
listened , while you 20
talked .
His 17
method , in turn , made that of the silk-lined salesman 11
sound like the hoarse hoots of the ballyhoo man 21
at a county fair .
Blithely he 17
accepted five hundred thousand dollars and gave in return -- a promise .
And when we 3
would search our 3
soul for a synonym to express all that was low-voiced , and suave , and judicious , and patient , and sure , we 3
began to say , " As alert as an advertising expert 22
. "
Jock McChesney 23
, looking as fresh and clear-eyed as only twenty-one and a cold shower can make one look , stood in the doorway of .
His 23
toilette had halted abruptly at the bathrobe stage .
One of those bulky garments swathed his 23
slim figure , while over his 23
left arm hung a gray tweed Norfolk coat .
From his 23
right hand dangled a pair of trousers , in pattern a modish black-and-white .
Jock 23
regarded the gray garment on his 23
arm with moody eyes .
" Well , I 23
'd like to know what 's the matter with it ! " he 23
demanded , a trifle irritably .
Emma McChesney 25
, in the act of surveying her 25
back hair in the mirror , paused , hand glass poised half way , to regard .
" All right , " she 25
answered cheerfully .
" I 25
'll tell you 23
.
It 's too young . "
" Young ! "
He 23
held it at arm 's length and stared at it .
" What d'you mean -- young ? "
Emma McChesney 25
came forward , wrapping the folds of her 25
kimono about her 25
.
She 25
took the disputed garment in one hand and held it aloft .
" I 25
know that you 23
look like a man on a magazine cover 26
in it .
But Norfolk suits spell tennis , and seashore , and elegant leisure .
And you 23
're going out this morning , Son 23
, to interview business men 27
.
You 23
're going to try to impress the advertising world 28
with the fact that it needs your 23
expert services .
You 23
walk into a business office 29
in a Norfolk suit , and everybody from
the office boy 31
to
the president of the company 32
30 will ask you 23
what your 23
score is . "
She 25
tossed it back over his 23
arm .
" I 23
'll wear the black and white , " said Jock 23
resignedly , and turned toward .
At his 23
doorway he 23
paused and raised his 23
voice slightly : " For that matter , they 27
're looking for young men 34
.
Everybody 35
's young .
Why , the biggest men in the advertising game 36
are just kids 60
. "
He 23
disappeared within , still talking .
" Look at McQuirk 37
, advertising manager of
the Combs Car Company 38
59 .
He 37
's so young he 37
has to disguise himself 37
in bone-trimmed eye-glasses with a black ribbon to get away with it .
Look at Hopper 39
, of the Berg , Shriner Company 40
.
Pulls down ninety thousand a year , and if he 39
's thirty-five I 23
'll -- " " Well , you 23
asked my 25
advice , " interrupted 's voice with that muffled effect which is caused by a skirt being slipped over the head , " and I 25
gave it .
Wear a white duck sailor suit with blue anchors and carry a red tin pail and a shovel , if you 23
want to look young .
Only get into it in a jiffy , Son 23
, because breakfast will be ready in ten minutes .
I 25
can tell by the way Annie 41
's crashing the cups .
So step lively if you 23
want to pay 's subway fare . "
Ten minutes later the slim young figure , in
its 23
English-fitting black and white
23 , sat opposite Emma McChesney 25
at the breakfast table and between excited gulps of coffee outlined a meteoric career in his 23
chosen field .
And the more he 23
talked and the rosier his 23
figures of speech became , the more silent and thoughtful fell .
She 25
wondered if five o'clock would find a droop to the set of those young shoulders ; if the springy young legs in their absurdly scant modish trousers would have lost some of their elasticity ; if the buoyant step in the flat-heeled shoes would not drag a little .
Thirteen years of business experience had taught her 25
to swallow smilingly the bitter pill of rebuff .
But this boy 23
was to experience his 23
first dose to-day .
She 25
felt again that sensation of almost physical nausea -- that sickness of heart and spirit which had come over her 25
when she 25
had met her 25
first sneer and intolerant shrug .
It had been her 25
maiden trip on the road for the T.A. Buck Featherloom Petticoat Company 42
.
She 25
was secretary of
that company 42
61 now , and moving spirit in its 42
policy .
But the wound of that first insult still ached .
A word from her 25
would have placed the boy 23
and saved him 23
from curt refusals .
She 25
withheld that word .
He 23
must fight his 23
fight alone .
" I 23
want to write the kind of ad , " Jock 23
was saying excitedly , " that you 43
see 'em staring at in the subways , and street cars 44
and L-trains 45
.
I 23
want to sit across the aisle and watch their 46
up-turned faces staring at that oblong , and reading it aloud to each other . "
" Is n't that an awfully obvious necktie you 23
're wearing , Jock 23
? " inquired irrelevantly .
" This ?
You 23
ought to see some of them .
This is a Quaker stock in comparison . "
He 23
glanced down complacently at the vivid-hued silken scarf that the season 's mode demanded .
Immediately he 23
was off again .
" And the first thing you 25
know , Mrs. McChesney 25
, ma'am 25
, we 47
'll have a motor truck 48
backing up at the door once a month and six strong men carrying
my 23
salary to the freight elevator in sacks
49 . "
Emma McChesney 25
buttered her 25
bit of toast , then looked up to remark quietly : " Had n't you 23
better qualify for the trial heats , Jock 23
, before you 23
jump into the finals ? "
" Trial heats ! " sneered Jock 23
.
" They 're poky .
I 23
want real money .
Now !
It is n't enough to be just well-to-do in these days .
It needs money .
I 23
want to be rich !
Not just prosperous , but rich !
So rich that I 23
can let the bath soap float around in the water without any pricks of conscience .
So successful that they 50
'll say , ' And he 23
's a mere boy 62
, too .
Imagine ! ' "
And , " Jock 23
dear , " Emma McChesney 25
said , " you 23
've still to learn that plans and ambitions are like soap bubbles .
The harder you 23
blow and the more you 23
inflate them , the quicker they burst .
Plans and ambitions are things to be kept locked away in your 23
heart , Son 23
, with no one but
yourself 23
51 to take an occasional peep at them . "
Jock 23
leaned over the table , with his 23
charming smile .
" You 25
're a jealous blonde 63
, " he 23
laughed .
" Because I 23
'm going to be a captain of finance 64
-- an advertising wizard 65
; you 25
're afraid I 23
'll grab the glory all away from you 25
. "
[ Illustration : " ' You 25
're a jealous blond , ' he 23
said " ] Mrs. McChesney 25
folded her 25
napkin and rose .
She 25
looked unbelievably young , and trim , and radiant , to be the mother of
this boasting boy 23
25 .
" I 25
'm not afraid , " she 25
drawled , a wicked little glint in her 25
blue eyes .
" You 23
see , they 27
'll only regard your 23
feats and say , ' H 'm , no wonder .
He 23
ought to be able to sell ice to an Eskimo 52
.
was Emma McChesney 25
. ' "
And then , being a modern mother 25
, she 25
donned smart autumn hat and tailored suit coat and stood ready to reach by nine-thirty .
But because she 25
was as motherly as she 25
was modern she 25
swung open the door between kitchen 54
and dining-room 55
to advise with Annie 41
, the adept 66
.
" Lamb chops to-night , eh , Annie 41
?
And sweet potatoes .
Jock 23
loves 'em .
And corn au gratin and some head lettuce . "
She 25
glanced toward Jock 23
in the hallway 56
, then lowered her 25
voice .
" Annie 41
, " she 25
teased , " just give us 57
one of your 41
peach cobblers , will you 41
?
You 41
see he 23
-- he 23
's going to be awfully -- tired when he 23
gets home 58
. "