And so the interesting dinner, with Clyde attending, came to pass. And it was partaken of at Frissell's, as Rattererhad said. And by now Clyde, having come to be on genial terms with all of these youths, was in the gayest ofmoods about it all. Think of his new state in life, anyhow. Only a few weeks ago he was all alone, not a boyfriend, scarcely a boy acquaintance in the world! And here he was, so soon after, going to this fine dinner withthis interesting group.
And true to the illusions of youth, the place appeared far more interesting than it really was. It was little morethan an excellent chop-house of the older American order. Its walls were hung thick with signed pictures ofactors and actresses, together with playbills of various periods. And because of the general excellence of thefood, to say nothing of the geniality of its present manager, it had become the hangout of passing actors,politicians, local business men, and after them, the generality of followers who are always drawn by that whichpresents something a little different to that with which they are familiar.
And these boys, having heard at one time and another from cab and taxi drivers that this was one of the bestplaces in town, fixed upon it for their monthly dinners. Single plates of anything cost from sixty cents to a dollar.
Coffee and tea were served in pots only. You could get anything you wanted to drink. To the left of the mainroom as you went in was a darker and low-ceilinged room with a fireplace, to which only men resorted and satand smoked, and read papers after dinner, and it was for this room that these youths reserved their greatestadmiration. Eating here, they somehow felt older, wiser, more important--real men of the world. And Rattererand Hegglund, to whom by now Clyde had become very much attached, as well as most of the others, weresatisfied that there was not another place in all Kansas City that was really as good.
And so this day, having drawn their pay at noon, and being off at six for the night, they gathered outside the hotelat the corner nearest the drug store at which Clyde had originally applied for work, and were off in a happy,noisy frame of mind--Hegglund, Ratterer, Paul Shiel, Davis Higby, another youth, Arthur Kinsella and Clyde.
"Didja hear de trick de guy from St. Louis pulled on the main office yesterday?" Hegglund inquired of the crowdgenerally, as they started walking. "Wires last Saturday from St. Louis for a parlor, bedroom and bat for himselfand wife, an' orders flowers put in de room. Jimmy, the key clerk, was just tellin' me. Den he comes on here andregisters himself an' his girl, see, as man and wife, an', gee, a peach of a lookin' girl, too--I saw 'em. Listen, youfellows, cantcha? Den, on Wednesday, after he's been here tree days and dey're beginnin' to wonder about him alittle--meals sent to de room and all dat--he comes down and says dat his wife's gotta go back to St. Louis, anddat he won't need no suite, just one room, and dat they can transfer his trunk and her bags to de new room untiltrain time for her. But de trunk ain't his at all, see, but hers. And she ain't goin', don't know nuttin about it. But heis. Den he beats it, see, and leaves her and de trunk in de room. And widout a bean, see? Now, dey're holdin' herand her trunk, an' she's cryin' and wirin' friends, and dere's hell to pay all around. Can ya beat dat? An' deflowers, too. Roses. An' six different meals in de room and drinks for him, too.""Sure, I know the one you mean," exclaimed Paul Shiel. "I took up some drinks myself. I felt there wassomething phony about that guy. He was too smooth and loud-talking. An' he only comes across with a dime atthat.""I remember him, too," exclaimed Ratterer. "He sent me down for all the Chicago papers Monday an' only giveme a dime. He looked like a bluff to me.""Well, dey fell for him up in front, all right." It was Hegglund talking. "An' now dey're tryin' to gouge it outa her.
Can you beat it?""She didn't look to me to be more than eighteen or twenty, if she's that old," put in Arthur Kinsella, who up tonow had said nothing.
"Did you see either of 'em, Clyde?" inquired Ratterer, who was inclined to favor and foster Clyde and includehim in everything.
"No" replied Clyde. "I must have missed those two. I don't remember seeing either of 'em.""Well, you missed seein' a bird when you missed that one. Tall, long black cut-a-way coat, wide, black derbypulled low over his eyes, pearl-gray spats, too. I thought he was an English duke or something at first, the way hewalked, and with a cane, too. All they gotta do is pull that English stuff, an' talk loud an' order everybody aboutan' they get by with it every time.""That's right," commented Davis Higby. "That's good stuff, that English line. I wouldn't mind pulling some of itmyself sometime."They had now turned two corners, crossed two different streets and, in group formation, were making their way through the main door of Frissell's, which gave in on the reflection of lights upon china and silverware and faces,and the buzz and clatter of a dinner crowd. Clyde was enormously impressed. Never before, apart from theGreen-Davidson, had he been in such a place. And with such wise, experienced youths.
They made their way to a group of tables which faced a leather wall-seat. The head-waiter, recognizing Rattererand Hegglund and Kinsella as old patrons, had two tables put together and butter and bread and glasses brought.
About these they arranged themselves, Clyde with Ratterer and Higby occupying the wall seat; Hegglund,Kinsella and Shiel sitting opposite.
"Now, me for a good old Manhattan, to begin wit'," exclaimed Hegglund avidly, looking about on the crowd inthe room and feeling that now indeed he was a person. Of a reddish-tan hue, his eyes keen and blue, his reddish-brown hair brushed straight up from his forehead, he seemed not unlike a large and overzealous rooster.
And similarly, Arthur Kinsella, once he was in here, seemed to perk up and take heart of his present glory. In asort of ostentatious way, he drew back his coat sleeves, seized a bill of fare, and scanning the drink-list on theback, exclaimed: "Well, a dry Martini is good enough for a start.""Well, I'm going to begin with a Scotch and soda," observed Paul Shiel, solemnly, examining at the same timethe meat orders.
"None of your cocktails for me to-night," insisted Ratterer, genially, but with a note of reserve in his voice. "Isaid I wasn t going to drink much to-night, and I'm not. I think a glass of Rhine wine and seltzer will be about myspeed.""For de love o' Mike, will you listen to dat, now," exclaimed Hegglund, deprecatingly. "He's goin' to begin onRhine wine. And him dat likes Manhattans always. What's gettin' into you all of a sudden, Tommy? I t'ought yousaid you wanted a good time to- night.""So I do," replied Ratterer, "but can't I have a good time without lappin' up everything in the place? I want to staysober to-night. No more call-downs for me in the morning, if I know what I'm about. I came pretty near notshowing up last time.""That's true, too," exclaimed Arthur Kinsella. "I don't want to drink so much I don't know where I'm at, but I'mnot going to begin worrying about it now.""How about you, Higby?" Hegglund now called to the round-eyed youth.
"I'm having a Manhattan, too," he replied, and then, looking up at the waiter who was beside him, added, "How'stricks, Dennis?""Oh, I can't complain," replied the waiter. "They're breakin' all right for me these days. How's everything over tothe hotel?""Fine, fine," replied Higby, cheerfully, studying the bill-of-fare.
"An' you, Griffiths? What are you goin' to have?" called Hegglund, for, as master-of-ceremonies, delegated bythe others to look after the orders and pay the bill and tip the waiter, he was now fulfilling the role.
"Who, me? Oh, me," exclaimed Clyde, not a little disturbed by this inquiry, for up to now--this very hour, infact--he had never touched anything stronger than coffee or ice-cream soda. He had been not a little taken backby the brisk and sophisticated way in which these youths ordered cocktails and whisky. Surely he could not go sofar as that, and yet, so well had he known long before this, from the conversation of these youths, that on suchoccasions as this they did drink, that he did not see how he could very well hold back. What would they think ofhim if he didn't drink something? For ever since he had been among them, he had been trying to appear as muchof a man of the world as they were. And yet back of him, as he could plainly feel, lay all of the years in which hehad been drilled in the "horrors" of drink and evil companionship. And even though in his heart this long whilehe had secretly rebelled against nearly all the texts and maxims to which his parents were always alluding,deeply resenting really as worthless and pointless the ragamuffin crew of wasters and failures whom they werealways seeking to save, still, now he was inclined to think and hesitate. Should he or should he not drink?
For the fraction of an instant only, while all these things in him now spoke, he hesitated, then added: "Why, I,oh--I think I'll take Rhine wine and seltzer, too." It was the easiest and safest thing to say, as he saw it. Alreadythe rather temperate and even innocuous character of Rhine wine and seltzer had been emphasized by Hegglundand all the others. And yet Ratterer was taking it--a thing which made his choice less conspicuous and, as he felt,less ridiculous.
"Will you listen to dis now?" exclaimed Hegglund, dramatically. "He says he'll have Rhine wine and seltzer, too.
I see where dis party breaks up at half-past eight, all right, unless some of de rest of us do someting."And Davis Higby, who was far more trenchant and roistering than his pleasant exterior gave any indication of,turned to Ratterer and said: "Whatja want to start this Rhine wine and seltzer stuff for, so soon, Tom? Dontchawant us to have any fun at all to-night?""Well, I told you why," said Ratterer. "Besides, the last time I went down to that joint I had forty bucks when Iwent in and not a cent when I came out. I want to know what's goin' on this time.""That joint," thought Clyde on hearing it. Then, after this supper, when they had all drunk and eaten enough, theywere going down to one of those places called a "joint"--a bad-house, really. There was no doubt of it--he knewwhat the word meant. There would be women there--bad women--evil women. And he would be expected-couldhe--would he?
For the first time in his life now, he found himself confronted by a choice as to his desire for the more accurateknowledge of the one great fascinating mystery that had for so long confronted and fascinated and baffled andyet frightened him a little. For, despite all his many thoughts in regard to all this and women in general, he hadnever been in contact with any one of them in this way. And now--now-All of a sudden he felt faint thrills of hot and cold racing up and down his back and all over him. His hands andface grew ............