g, but in evenin' clothes he's a reg'lar young grand duke; while
Miss Prentice--well, she's one of these soft, pouty-lipped, droopy-eyed
charmers, the kind you see bein' crushed against some manly shirt bosom
on the magazine covers. I watches her nod careless as Warrie explains
what's in the note, and the next minute he's out givin' me the cordial
hail.

"What!" says he. "A friend from Sand Spur? By Jove! It--it can't be
Valentina, can it?"

"She's the one," says I. "Goin' back early in the mornin' too, so I
didn't know but you might like to step out and--"

"Step out nothing!" says he. "Bring her in. There's only Gladys, and
we're just starting dinner. I want you both to join us."

"Wha-a-at?" I gasps. "Lug Valentina--in there!"

"Most certainly," says he.

"But see here, you big boob," says I, "have you got any idea how she's
costumed?"

He laughs. "Let's see," he goes on, "it ought to be a dark blue print
with red polka dots. That used to be her Sunday dress."

"You win," says I. "The styles in Sand Spur ain't changed any. But
this is Fifth Avenue, remember."

"Torchy," says he, droppin' one of his big paws on my shoulder, "what I
shall always remember about Valentina Tozier is this: that when she
picked me up out on the Gulf I was in a bad way. I'd been rolling
around in a rummy old motor-boat for hours and hours, with a stalled
engine, and a norther howling down the coast. Came sailing out in a
crazy catboat, Valentina did, and towed me in. She knew nothing about
who I was, mind you, but that made no difference to her or Pop Tozier.
From then on there wasn't anything in Sand Spur too good for me. And
now--but where is she?"

Honest, in all I'd seen of him at the Corrugated, I'd never known
Warrie Mason to act so much like a live one. There was no stopping
him. Before I could register any more protests, he'd hauled Valentina
out of the cab, taken her by the arm, and was steerin' her slam into
the middle of the Tarleton's Looie Cans dinin'-room. The haughty head
waiter lets out one gasp and steadies himself against a marble pillar.
As for Miss Prentice, she takes one look at what Warrie is towin' in,
and goes pink in the ears. Then she stiffens, from the jaws down.

But Warrie don't seem to be wise to the fact that he's pullin' anything
odd. He acts just as natural as if he'd picked up one of the younger
set.

"Gladys," says he, "this is Valentina Tozier, that I've told you so
mu