ld that chummy roadster to Sampson and
he has give it to his daughter-in-law for a weddin' gift."

The president jumps from his chair, very light for a man of his heft.

"Great!" he hollers, "great!" He looks at Sampson's check which Alex
hands over. "I knew you'd do it! I saw you had the stuff in you the
minute you first walked in this office. That's the place to get first
string men--right from the country, and Vermont has furnished more than
her share. They told me you'd fall down because New York was too big
for you, but I knew different. They can't fool me when it comes to
judging men! I'll get our advertising men right to work on this copy,
and we'll hit the morning papers with it. This is great! Now if
Sampson's daughter-in-law was only in the public eye, know what I mean,
this would be wonderful! We've had a man after Margot Meringue for a
month, but she's away somewhere. You probably won't know her; she's a
big movie star and we'd _give_ her a car if she'd only endorse it.
Why, if we landed her--"

"That's who Sampson give the car to," says Alex. "His son and her just
got wed and he give her the Gaflooey roadster for a weddin' gift. How
about that New York manager job--do I get it?"

"Do you get it!" shrieks the president. "Why, say--you're _it_, right
now!"

"That's fine!" says Alex. "I'll take the job the day after to-morrow!"

"I see!" says the president, breakin' his neck tryin' to make himself a
good fellah. "You want a day off after your labors, eh?"

"No!" says Alex, "I got to go out and see Sampson again to-morrow,
because havin' give this roadster to his daughter-in-law, naturally
he'll need one for hisself now!"

CHAPTER III

PLAY YOUR ACE!

This here combination that opens the door to success is a funny
thing--everybody's lookin' for it and everybody's got it! Some guys
knows just where to put their hands on it when they get the big chance
to crack the safe of fame and as a result they become boss bankers or
boss bricklayers--either of which is a trick and hard to do. Other
guys forget the first three numbers or somethin' and never get better
than John Smiths in the telephone book of life.

It takes speed to get a baseball from the pitcher to the catcher, but
it's _control_ that puts the pill over the plate, which may be the
answer to why John D. Rockefeller ain't payin' _you_ rent and you got
your first time to be elected president of anything, from the dear old