Then the breathless impendency of the event swept
his mind clear of details. This was the day—unsought,
unsuspected six months before, but now breaking in
yellow light through his east window, dancing along
the carpet as though the sun were smiling at some
ancient and reiterated gag of his own.
Anthony laughed in a nervous one-syllable snort.
“By God!” he muttered to himself, “I’m
as good as married!”
Six young men in CROSS PATCH’S library
growing more and more cheery under the influence of
Mumm’s Extra Dry, set surreptitiously in cold
pails by the bookcases.
THE FIRST YOUNG MAN: By golly! Believe me,
in my next book I’m going to do a wedding scene
that’ll knock ’em cold!
THE SECOND YOUNG MAN: Met a debutante th’other
day said she thought your book was powerful.
As a rule young girls cry for this primitive business.
THE THIRD YOUNG MAN: Where’s Anthony?
THE FOURTH YOUNG MAN: Walking up and down outside
talking to himself.
SECOND YOUNG MAN: Lord! Did you see the
minister? Most peculiar looking teeth.
FIFTH YOUNG MAN: Think they’re natural.
Funny thing people having gold teeth.
SIXTH YOUNG MAN: They say they love ’em.
My dentist told me once a woman came to him and insisted
on having two of her teeth covered with gold.
No reason at all. All right the way they were.
FOURTH YOUNG MAN: Hear you got out a book, Dicky.
’Gratulations!
DICK: (Stiffly) Thanks.
FOURTH YOUNG MAN: (Innocently) What is
it? College stories?
DICK: (More stiffly) No. Not college
stories.
FOURTH YOUNG MAN: Pity! Hasn’t been
a good book about Harvard for years.
DICK: (Touchily) Why don’t you supply
the lack?
THIRD YOUNG MAN: I think I saw a squad of guests
turn the drive in a
Packard just now.
SIXTH YOUNG MAN: Might open a couple more bottles
on the strength of that.
THIRD YOUNG MAN: It was the shock of my life
when I heard the old man was going to have a wet wedding.
Rabid prohibitionist, you know.
FOURTH YOUNG MAN: (Snapping his fingers excitedly)
By gad! I knew I’d forgotten something.
Kept thinking it was my vest.
DICK: What was it?
FOURTH YOUNG MAN: By gad! By gad!
SIXTH YOUNG MAN: Here! Here! Why the
tragedy?
SECOND YOUNG MAN: What’d you forget?
The way home?
DICK: (Maliciously) He forgot the plot
for his book of Harvard stories.
FOURTH YOUNG MAN: No, sir, I forgot the present,
by George! I forgot to buy old Anthony a present.
I kept putting it off and putting it off, and by gad
I’ve forgotten it! What’ll they think?
SIXTH YOUNG MAN: (Facetiously) That’s
probably what’s been holding up the wedding.
