“Oh, shut up,” said Geary, irritated, as they had intended he should be.  “Yes,” he went on, “I thought I’d blow myself.  I’ve been working like a dog the whole month.  I’m trying to get in Beale’s office.  Beale and Storey, you know.  I got the promise of a berth last week, so I thought I’d blow myself for some rags.  I’ve been over to San Rafael all day visiting my cousins; had a great time; went out to row.  Oh, and had a great feed:  lettuce sandwiches with mayonnaise.  Simply out of sight.  I came back on the four o’clock boat and held down the ‘line’ on Kearney Street for an hour or two.”

“Yes?” young Haight said perfunctorily, adding after a moment, “Isn’t this a gay crowd, a typical San Francisco crowd and—­”

“I had a cocktail in the Imperial at about quarter of five,” said Geary, “and got a cigar at the Elite; then I went around to get my clothes.  Oh, you ought to have heard the blowing up I gave my tailor!  I let him have it right straight.”

Geary paused a moment, and Vandover said:  “Come on, let’s walk around a little; don’t you want to?  We might run on to the red hat again.”

“I told him,” continued Geary without moving, “that if he wanted to do any more work for me, he’d have to get in front of himself in a hurry, and that I wasn’t full of bubbles, if he was.  ‘Why,’ says he, ’why, Mr. Geary, I’ve never had a customer talk like this to me before since I’ve been in the business!’ ‘Well, Mr. Allen,’ says I, ’it’s time you had!  Oh, sure, I gave it to him straight.”

“Vandover has gone daft over a girl in a red hat,” said young Haight, as they got up and began to walk.  “Have you noticed her up here?”

“I went to the Grillroom after I left the tailor’s,” continued Geary, “and had supper downtown.  Ah, you ought to have seen the steak they gave me!  Just about as thick as it was wide.  I gave the slavey a four-bit tip.  Oh, it’s just as well, you know, to keep in with them, if you go there often.  I lunch there four or five times a week.”

They descended to the ground floor and promenaded the central aisle watching for pretty girls.  In front of a candy-counter, where there was a soda fountain, they saw the red hat again.  Vandover looked her squarely in the face and laughed a little.  When he had passed he looked back; the girl caught his eye and turned away with a droll smile.  Vandover paused, grinning, and raising his hat; “I guess that’s mine,” he said.

“You are not going, are you?” exclaimed young Haight, as Vandover stopped.  “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Van, do leave the girls alone for one hour in the day.  Come on!  Come on downtown with us.”

“No, no,” answered Vandover.  “I’m going to chase it up.  Good-bye.  I may see you fellows later,” and he turned back and went up to the girl.

“Look at that!” said young Haight, exasperated.  “He knows he’s liable to meet his acquaintances here, and yet there he goes, almost arm in arm with a girl like that.  It’s too bad; why can’t a fellow keep straight when there are such a lot of nice girls?”