st with them--sincere. And with me they
had been as hypocritical as hell!

"But when finally I made 'em see that I was on, and that I was in
earnest, it sobered them. They quit then that line of chatter. They
were battling now, and they pulled another one. Sure, just what you
called it a minute ago. The old line of stuff. They pulled that. They
tried to scare me. Me! But I wouldn't scare, not for a cent. I was
already scared half crazy--scared of matrimony with a drummer with false
teeth.

"'Hell!' That was what they threatened me with. 'Hell,' they tried to
warn me. "'How do you know?' I came back at 'em. 'How do you know?
Maybe there's been slander here. Maybe it's not so hot. Maybe it's only
semitropical!' And they couldn't beat that. They couldn't even tie it.
But they went right on trying.

"'The wages of sin,'--they began. But I beat 'em to that punch.

"'They're damned fine wages,' I said. The cuss-word slipped out. I was
always sorry about that. I always aimed to be awful respectful.
'They're damned fine wages! A car to ride around in,--sure, merely
material just like yours, but better than a strap in the subway with all
the men sitting down. And clothes--not shoddy rags. Clothes! Silk
things, with lace on 'em, and rosebuds. And a place to live in with
trees in the lobby and a tub level with the bath-room floor, and a
chaise-something-or-other.' Oh, I'd been reading! I hadn't been
studying for nothing. I knew!

"'I want to live in a world where things smell better,' I said. 'I'm
dead tired of a world that stinks!'

"Well, they kept a'trying. I'll say that for 'em. Game--you bet. I
don't believe they overlooked much either. 'The gutter,' they said.
'I'm in it now,' I came back. 'Your self-respect,' they said. 'Nobody
else respects me,' I trumped that, 'or even cares that I'm alive.' And
then I went after 'em strong. 'But give me the car,' I said, 'and the
apartment and the clothes, and see. Why, I'll have 'em walking the
length of every hotel dining-room in town, just to be recognized by me!'
'The men,' they said. 'Sure,' I agreed, 'the men. Isn't that what
counts? Don't try to tell me that this isn't a man's world. I know!
And won't they?'

"That stopped 'em for a minute. They didn't want to answer. They
thought an awful lot of the truth at times, for folks that'd lie to
themselves all day long. 'Won't they?' I wouldn't quit it. I made 'em
come through.