rinkun all time,
lately. Firs' you notice it?"

"By George!" cried Sheridan. "I THOUGHT I'd smelt it on you a good deal
lately, but I wouldn't 'a' believed you'd take more'n was good for you.
Boh! To see you like a common hog!"

Roscoe chuckled and threw out his right arm in a meaningless gesture.
"Hog!" he repeated, chuckling.

"Yes, a hog!" said Sheridan, angrily. "In business hours! I don't object
to anybody's takin' a drink if you wants to, out o' business hours; nor,
if a man keeps his work right up to the scratch, I wouldn't be the one
to baste him if he got good an' drunk once in two, three years, maybe.
It ain't MY way. I let it alone, but I never believed in forcin' my way
on a grown-up son in moral matters. I guess I was wrong! You think them
men out there are waitin' to talk business with a drunkard? You think
you can come to your office and do business drunk? By George! I wonder
how often this has been happening and me not on to it! I'll have a look
over your books to-morrow, and I'll--"

Roscoe stumbled to his feet, laughing wildly, and stood swaying,
contriving to hold himself in position by clutching the back of the
heavy chair in which he had been sitting.

"Hoo--hoorah!" he cried. "'S my principles, too. Be drunkard all you
want to--outside business hours. Don' for Gossake le'n'thing innerfere
business hours! Business! Thassit! You're right, father. Drink! Die!
L'everything go to hell, but DON' let innerfere business!"

Sheridan had seized the telephone upon Roscoe's desk, and was calling
his own office, overhead. "Abercrombie? Come down to my son Roscoe's
suite and get rid of some gentlemen that are waitin' there to see him in
room two-fourteen. There's Maples and Schirmer and a couple o' fellows
on the Kinsey business. Tell 'em something's come up I have to go over
with Roscoe, and tell 'em to come back day after to-morrow at two.
You needn't come in to let me know they're gone; we don't want to be
disturbed. Tell Pauly to call my house and send Claus down here with a
closed car. We may have to go out. Tell him to hustle, and call me at
Roscoe's room as soon as the car gets here. 'T's all!"

Roscoe had laughed bitterly throughout this monologue. "Drunk in
business hours! Thass awf'l! Mus'n' do such thing! Mus'n' get drunk,
mus'n' gamble, mus'n' kill 'nybody--not in business hours! All right any
other time. Kill 'nybody you want to--'s long 'tain't in business
hours! Fine! Mus'n' have any troub