from Buffalo to see me. Real clever of you, wasn't it?"

One by one they reminded Hartley of little things like that, without
givin' him a chance to peep, until each one had had his say. But finally
Hartley gets an openin'.

"You got just what you needed--discipline," says he. "That's what made
soldiers out of you."

"Oh, did it!" says Brother Beans. "Then perhaps a little of it would
qualify you for the High Command. Shall we try it, Most Worthy
Buddies?"

"Soak it on him, Beans!" is the verdict, shouted enthusiastic from all
sides.

"So let it be," says Beans solemn. "And now, candidate, you are about to
be escorted forth where the elusive cigar-butt lurks in the gutter and
scraps of paper litter the pavement. As an exponent of this particular
brand of discipline you will see that no small item escapes you. Should
you be so remiss, or should you falter in doing your full duty, you will
be returned at once to this room, where retribution waits with heavy
hands. Ho, Worthy Buddies! Invest the candidate with the sacred insignia
of the empty gunny sack."

And say, when them Gogs started out to put a thing through they did it
systematic and thorough. Inside of a minute Hartley is armed with an old
bag and is being hustled out to the elevator. As they didn't seem to be
taking much notice of me, I tags along, too. They leads Hartley right
out in front of the Plutoria and sets him to cleanin' up the block.

Course, it's a little odd to see a young gent in torn cutaway coat and
tousled hair scramblin' around under taxi-cabs and dodgin' cars to pick
up cigar-butts and chewin' gum papers. So quite a crowd collects. Some
of 'em cheers and some haw-haws. But the overseas vets. don't allow
Hartley to let up for a second.

"Hey! Don't miss that cigarette stub!" one would call out to him. And as
soon as he'd retrieved that another would point out a piece of banana
peelin' out in the middle of the avenue. He got cussed enthusiastic by
some of the taxi drivers who just grazed him, and the traffic cop
threatened to run him in until he saw the bunch of soldiers bossin' the
job and then he grins and turns the other way.

I expect I should have been more or less wrathy at seein' a brother
officer get it as raw as that, but I'm afraid I did more or less
grinnin' at some of Hartley's antics. It struck me, though, that he
might be kind of embarrassed if I stayed around until they turned him
loose. So before he finished I edged out