uet's ears, he would straighten
himself a little more stiffly and eat with solid comfort. If he had any
vanity, this augmented it, and if he had any ambition, this stirred it.
He would be able to flash a roll of greenbacks too some day. As it was,
he could eat where THEY did.
His preference for Fitzgerald and Moy's Adams Street place was another
yard off the same cloth. This was really a gorgeous saloon from a
Chicago standpoint. Like Rector's, it was also ornamented with a blaze
of incandescent lights, held in handsome chandeliers. The floors were of
brightly coloured tiles, the walls a composition of rich, dark, polished
wood, which reflected the light, and coloured stucco-work, which gave
the place a very sumptuous appearance. The long bar was a blaze of
lights, polished woodwork, coloured and cut glassware, and many fancy
bottles. It was a truly swell saloon, with rich screens, fancy wines,
and a line of bar goods unsurpassed in the country.
At Rector's, Drouet had met Mr. G. W. Hurstwood, manager of Fitzgerald
and Moy's. He had been pointed out as a very successful and well-known
man about town. Hurstwood looked the part, for, besides being slightly
under forty, he had a good, stout constitution, an active manner, and a
solid, substantial air, which was composed in part of his fine clothes,
his clean linen, his jewels, and, above all, his own sense of his
importance. Drouet immediately conceived a notion of him as being some
one worth knowing, and was glad not only to meet him, but to visit the
Adams Street bar thereafter whenever he wanted a drink or a cigar.
Hurstwood was an interesting character after his kind. He was shrewd and
clever in many little things, and capable of creating a good impression.
His managerial position was fairly important--a kind of stewardship
which was imposing, but lacked financial control. He had risen by
perseverance and industry, through long years of service, from the
position of barkeeper in a commonplace saloon to his present altitude.
He had a little office in the place, set off in polished cherry and
grill-work, where he kept, in a roll-top desk, the rather simple
accounts of the place--supplies ordered and needed. The chief executive
and financial functions devolved upon the owners--Messrs. Fitzgerald and
Moy--and upon a cashier who looked after the money taken in.
For the most part he lounged about, dressed in excellent tailored suits
of imported goods, a solitaire ring
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