gettin' purple behind the ears.

Then, all of a sudden here the other afternoon, Piddie comes trottin'
out of the private office all flustered up and begins pawin' excited
through the big bond safe. He's hardly got started at that before there
comes three rings on the buzzer for him, and he trots back to see what
the old man wants now. Next there are hurry calls for the general
auditor and the head of the contract department, and before Mr. Ellins
gets through he's had every chief in the shop up on the carpet and put
'em through the third degree. Way out by my gate I could hear him layin'
down the law to 'em, and they comes out lookin' wild and worried.

Which don't get me excited any at all. I worked in the newspaper office
too long and saw too many Sunday editions go to press for that. So when
I hears him yell for me I don't jump over the desk and get goose flesh
up the back. I keeps right on snappin' rubber bands at the spring water
bottle until he's shouted a couple more times. Then I winks at the row
of lady typists and strolls in, calm and easy.

"Yes, sir?" says I.

"See here, boy!" says he. "Do you happen by any chance to know where
that son of mine might be found at this moment?"

"Mr. Robert?" says I. "Nix."

"No, of course you don't!" says Old Hickory, glarin' at me. "No one
around this precious asylum for undeveloped cerebellums seems to know
anything they ought to. Bah!"

"Yes, sir," says I.

"Don't grin at me that way!" he snaps. "Get out! No, stay where you are!
If you don't know where Robert is, where do you think he might be
found?"

"Tried any of his clubs?" says I.

He had, all of 'em. Also he'd had him paged through four hotel grill
rooms and called up three brokers' offices.

"Well, if he ain't havin' a late lunch, or playin' billiards, or
watchin' the stock board, I give it up," says I. "Maybe you've noticed
that Mr. Robert ain't been in many afternoons lately."

"Huh! Perhaps I haven't, though!" grunts Old Hickory. "But this time it
is important that he should be here. Young man, you seem to have less
wool on your wits than most of the office force; so I am going to
confide to you that unless we find Robert before four-thirty o'clock
this afternoon the Corrugated Trust Company will lose a lot of money."

"Oh, if it's a case of savin' the next dividend," says I, "I'll take
another think. I expect you asked for him at the house?"

"He was there at one-fifteen and left twenty minute