sits right down on the curb and buries his face in
his hands.

"Good night!" he moans. "I'm done for now. I thought this was going
to be a big thing for me and--"

Alex slaps him on the back.

"No whinin'," he says. "We're still in Washington--you can't tell what
might happen yet."

"You can gimme that fifteen hundred berries right now if you want,
Alex," I says, "because I'm gonna grab the next train for Manhattan.
This is _one_ that beat you and--"

"Ssh!" says the lovely Wilkinson, jumpin' up suddenly. "Here comes
Colonel Williams himself!"

We looked around and sure enough there's two army officers walkin' over
to the War Department. When they got opposite us, Wilkinson braces
himself and steps forward.

"Pardon me, Colonel," he says. "I'm Mister Wilkinson of Gerhardt and
Schmidt. I had an appointment with you to-day at five to show you
those army coats."

The Colonel looks at him.

"Oh, yes," he says, very pleasant. "Just step inside, Mister
Wilkinson. I'll see you in my office. You are very prompt. You must
have been caught in the downpour--you're soaking wet."

"Yes, sir," says Wilkinson. "I--ah--Colonel, I don't think there's any
use of me stepping into your office."

"Eh--why not?" says the Colonel.

Wilkinson turns several of the popular colors.

"I--ah--the fact is," he says, "our coat is not what the United States
government wants, Colonel. I didn't know it at the time I solicited
the contract--I--I've just found it out. We brought the required
number of coats down here by auto truck, not being able to get them
here on time by freight or express. The trip was made in yesterday's
storm and"--he points to the mess on the truck--"there's the coats!"

The Colonel examines a couple of them soggy rags and he gets very
severe. I heard him say somethin' that sounded like "Damn!" a couple
of times, and then he turns to Wilkinson.

"This is a matter for the Department of Justice," he says. "You will
leave the truck and its load right here, Mister Wilkinson, and I'll
personally see that it's taken care of. Your action in coming direct
to me with this evidence is commendable. You may telegraph your firm
that the United States government is holding this shipment for
investigation. I'm sorry for your sake that this happened, as I had
all but made up my mind to give you the contract. If you desire to see
me further, I'll be in my office until six."

With that he stamps away. The