a mornin' paper
for a refined, high-browed person to help one of the same kind kill time
at a big salary.

"And look what he gets," says Leonidas, wavin' his hand at the push.
"There's more'n a hundred of 'em, and not more'n a dozen that you
couldn't trace back to a Mills hotel. They've been jawing away for an
hour, trying to settle who gets the cinch. The chap who did the
advertising is inside there, in the middle of that bunch, and I reckon
he wishes he hadn't. As an act of charity, Shorty, I'm going to
straighten things out for him. Come on."

"Better call up the reserves," says I.

But that wa'n't Mr. Dodge's style. Side-steppin' around to the off edge
of the crowd, just as if he'd come down from the elevator, he calls out
good and loud: "Now then, gentlemen; one side, please, one side! Ah,
thank you! In a moment, now, gentlemen, we'll get down to business."

And say, they opened up for us like it was pay day and he had the cash
box. We brought up before the saddest-lookin' cuss I ever saw out of
bed. I couldn't make out whether he was sick, or scared, or both. He
had flopped in a big leather chair and was tryin' to wave 'em away with
both hands, while about two dozen, lookin' like ex-bath rubbers or men
nurses, were telling him how good they were and shovin' references at
him. The rest of the gang was trying to push in for their whack. It was
a bad mess, but Leonidas wasn't feazed a bit.

"Attention, gentlemen!" says he. "If you will all retire to the room on
the left we will get to work. The room on the left, gentlemen, on the
left!"

He had a good voice, Leonidas did, one of the kind that could go against
a merry-go-round or a German band. The crowd stopped pushin' to listen,
then some one made a break for the next room, and in less than a minute
they were all in there, with the door shut between. Mr. Dodge tips me
the wink and sails over to the specimen in the chair.

"You're Mr. Homer Fales, I take it," says he.

"I am," says the pale one, breathing hard, "and who--who the devil are
you?"

"That's neither here nor there," says Leonidas. "Just now I'm a
life-boat. Do you want to hire any of those fellows? If so--"

"No, no, no!" says Homer, shakin' as if he had a chill. "Send them all
away, will you? They have nearly killed me."

"Away they go," says Leonidas. "Watch me do it."

First he has me go in with his hat and collect their cards. Then I calls
'em out, one by one, while he stands by to giv