d I had
her seat so I give it to her with a glad heart an' come out, an' I never
was happier to do anythin' in my whole life before. But I was hardly out
when a lady as I had n't seen yet see my little flag an' pounced on me
an' said was I Miss Clegg? an' I did n't see nothin' to be gained by
sayin' I was n't so I said Yes, I was.

"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, that was pretty near to bein' the beginnin' of my
end. That woman hustled me into a carriage, give my valise to the driver
an' told him to be quick. I was too dumb did up by her actions to be
able to think of anythin' to say so I just sit still, an' she pinned a
purple ribbon onto me an' told me she'd read two of my books an' died
laughin' only to look at me. I was more than afraid as she was crazy but
she talked so fast I could n't even see a chance to open my mouth so I
did n't try.

"She said when they was gettin' ready for the convention an' dividin' up
celebrities among themselves that she just took me right off. She said
as she was goin' to give a lunch for me an' a dinner for me an' I don't
know what all. She was still talkin' when the carriage stopped at a
hotel.

"She said I must n't mind a hotel much 'cause her husband minded company
more, an' I did n't see any sort of meanin' to her remark, but David in
the lions' den was a roarin' lion himself compared to me that minute, so
I just walked behind her an' she took me in an' up in a elevator an'
into a room with a bathroom an' a bouquet an' there she told me to give
her the key of the valise an' she'd unpack while I was in the bath tub.

"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, I'm sure I never had no idea of needin' a bath that
bad when I set off for the city to-day, an' you'll maybe be surprised at
me bein' so wax about extra washin' in her hands, but I was so wild to
get away from her an' her steady talk by that time, that I give her the
key an' went into the bathroom an' made up my mind as I'd try a bath all
over at once for the first time in my life, seein' as there did n't seem
to be nothin' else to do, an' the tub was handy.

"So I undressed an' when I was undressed I begin to look where I was to
leap. Well, Mrs. Lathrop, you never see such a tub as that tub in all
your life before! There was a hole in the middle of the bottom an' the
more water run in the more water run out. At first I could n't see how I
was goin' to manage but after a while I figured it out an' see as there
was nothin' for me to do but to sit on that h