The Argosy, Christmas 1912 — page 246: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

232 set off briskly on foot to make his first business call. Hardly had he left the hotel, however, when a middle - aged man of somewhat faded distinction, drew alongside him and held out a lavender envelope; from which Jimmy sniffed the faint scent of perfume. He looked up in surprise, regarded the note suspiciously, and then gazed question- ingly at the smiling face of the bearer. “For the sefior,’ the man said po- litely. At once it dawned upon Jimmy. The note was from the woman who had thrown him the rose the previous eve- ning. Such impertinerce he had never known—even he, the admired of every pretty woman! At first he almost doubted his suspicions, but the whole thing seemed plain to him now. He knew no ladies in Ozora; yet the envelope was such that no one but a woman would use it, and for her most particular social correspondence. Be- sides, no other woman in the town had particularly observed him; and, from his adventure of the evening before, Jimmy knew he had made a hit with the one who had thrown her flower to him. Naturally, she had been piqued when he ignored her advances, and now she had sent this shabby messenger with a note—probably inviting him to a ren- dezvous. It was not the first time in Jimmy’s life that such a thing had hap- pened to him; but, now that he was married, the situation was different. At first he was inclined to be toler- ant, for undoubtedly the lady did not know that he had a wife in East Orange. But then he grew angry that any one should so presume to flirt with him, and his fists clenched. How dared she send a note to a married man! “The sciior will read?” the man persisted. “The sefor will not!” exclaimed Jimmy emphatically. “Get out! Beat it!” The man looked at him in disap- pointment, but Jimmy’s threatening manner caused him to move away THE ARGOSY. quickly. From a distance he watched Jimmy, however, as the irate young man stalked on- and entered the office of the first official on his list. For half an hour Jimmy talked pocket-lighters, and, because the inci- dent of the scented note still rankled in his mind, he bruskly objected to every condition the official attempted to make. Consequently, fifteen min- utes later he left the building with the documents he desired safe in his breast-pocket. | On the steps waited the man who had previously accosted him. Smi- ling and suave, the man approached at once and again proffered the laven- der envelope. Angrily Jimmy brushed him aside and hurried across the street to the office of the second man he wanted to see. The bearer of the note was plainly crestfallen, but when Jimmy emerged an hour later the man’s patience had not been exhaust- ed. He was still there, holding out the missive with a plaintive air. “The senor will not refuse—” he began in a whining tone. “Look here!” said Jimmy, turning about impatiently. “I’m married! I receive no letters from even the most attractive lady in Ozora. Don’t hand me that thing again! Understand?” Apparently the man did not under- stand, for he only shook his head and continued to hold out the letter. ““Vamose!”’ yelled Jimmy with up- raised fist. And once more the mes- senger drew away, an injured look upon his face. “Good Lord!” Jimmy muttered to himself. “It’s the limit the way I make a hit with women! ”’ And, drawing himself up a little vainly, he hurried back to the hotel to write to his firm of the morning’s work. That afternoon, after the siesta hour, Jimmy was sitting upon the bal- cony outside his room, enjoying a quiet smoke and a cooling drink. Sud- denly a figure on the plaza attracted his attention, and he recognized the CoOMmicbook CO