ront page is a picture of Miss
Vincent. Underneath it says this,

"Famous Film Star Rumored Engaged to Millionaire."

"Well," I says, "what has this here social note got to do with the
Professor?"

"What has a jockey got to do with horse-racin'?" bellers the Kid. "Why
the big hick, I'll go down there and strangle him right out loud before
them high-brow simps of his! I'll have him pinched and I hope he gets
life! I'll--"

He went on like that for half an hour, and when he finally cools off he
explains that the professor had guaranteed to dust off his charmers and
charm Miss Vincent so hard that she wouldn't even give a pleasant smile
to nobody but the Kid. All Scanlan had to do was follow the
professor's dope and they'd be nothin' to it but slippin' the minister
and payin' the railroad people for the honeymoon. The Kid had gone
ahead and done like the professor said, startin' off with the letter
requestin' a lock of her hair clipped at eleven eighteen on a rainy
Sunday night. Then he telegraphed her to bathe her thumbs in hot
oolong tea every Friday at noon and send him the leaves in a red
envelope. He followed that up with a note demandin' a ring that she
had first dipped in the juice of a stewed poppy, and then held in back
of her while she said, "Alagazza, gazzopi, gazzami" thirteen times.

I guess the professor overplayed the thing a bit, because the only
action the Kid got was a short note from Miss Vincent in which she said
that as long as he had started right in to drink the minute he hit New
York, their friendship was all over. The next thing was that notice in
the paper.

The Kid's idea was to go right down and wreck the Temple of the Inner
Star, windin' up by havin' Honest Dan and his bunk medium pinched. I
showed him where it would do no good, because he had set 'em up in
business and if they was crooked the jury would figure that and put the
Kid's name on one of them indictments. He calmed off finally and said
he'd be satisfied to let it go at half killin' 'em both and makin' a
bum out of the Temple of the Inner Star.

We got down there in a few minutes, and Honest Dan meets us at the
door. He's all excited and says the time has come for the big hog
killin', after which they're gonna blow New York, because they been
tipped off that the new police commissioner is about to startle the
natives with a raid. The Kid starts to bawl him out, when the big
stout dame is ushered into the room and