Part 17 (2/2)
”Yes,” says Simmons.
”Have you felt out the s.h.i.+rt people on it?” asks Alex next.
”That's what I wanted to see _you_ about,” says Simmons. ”I can't get them to look at it! I get s.h.i.+fted from one subordinate to another and they seem to think I'm some sort of a crank. If I could only get it before Philip Calder, the president of the Brown-Calder s.h.i.+rt Company, I'd be made!”
”Hmm!” grunts Alex. ”Well, what d'ye want _me_ to do?”
Simmons coughs and fidgets with the b.u.t.ton.
”It struck me when you was talkin' to me the other night,” he says, ”that if there was one man in New York who could see Calder and make him realize the merits of my invention, you were that man! Will you try it?”
”I'll _do_ it!” answers Alex. ”Gimme the model and you'll hear from me in a few days. Do you wish to sell the neckbands themselves, or just the patent on your idea?”
”I don't care who makes the neckbands,” says Simmons, ”as long as I get paid for my invention! Of course, I don't expect you to help me for nothing, either.”
”Ha! ha!” I b.u.t.ts in. ”That bird wouldn't tell you the time for nothing You'll be lucky if you ever even see that invention any more!”
”Don't mind my cousin,” Alex tells him. ”Outside of a tendency to the measles, he's the worst thing we got in our family! We'll take up the financial end of this later.”
Bright and early the next mornin', or eleven o'clock to be exact, Alex invites me to go with him so's I can watch how he would go about seein'
the president of the Brown-Calder Company and sellin' him the Simmons patent collar b.u.t.ton. As they is always a chance that Alex will fall down, I went along. We had no trouble at all landin' outside the president's office, but once we got there it was different.
”Is Mister Calder in?” says Alex to a blond stenographer, which looks like them movie queens would like to.
She puts four stray hairs back of her left ear and arises.
”Have you got an appointment?” she inquires.
”No,” grins Alex, ”my nose got that way from bein' hit with a baseball.”
She had lovely teeth and showed 'em to us.
”Cards?” she says next, lookin' from one of us to the other.
”I'll play these!” says Alex. ”Listen! I wanna go in Mister Calder's office without bein' announced. I ain't seen him for years and he'll be tickled silly when we meet. I wanna sneak in and just be there the first time he looks around. I'm a surprise--see?”
She looks kinda doubtful.
”W-e-ll, I don't know,” she says. ”I've only been here since yesterday, but my orders is to let n.o.body past this gate without first findin' out their business and so forth. Still and all, I don't wanna be harsh with none of the boss's old college chums or nothin' like that. If you can guarantee I won't lose my job, I'll let you get away with it.”
”If you lose your job,” says Alex, openin' the gate and pullin' me in after him, ”I'll hire you for five dollars more than you're gettin'
here. All right?”
”I only trust you're man enough to keep your word,” she says. ”The boss's office is the first one to the left.”
”Thanks,” says Alex. ”Them eyes of yours is alone worth the trip!”
This guy Calder's door is open and he's sittin' at a big desk writin'
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