Piddie won"t have it that way, though. "I think there"s a woman in the case," says he, "and I"m sure it isn"t his mother."

"A woman; Vincent?" says I. "Ah, quit your kiddin", Piddie. I"d as soon think it of you."

That brings the pink to his ears and he stiffens indignant. But in a minute or so he gets over it enough to explain that he"s noticed Vincent fussin" with his necktie and slickin" his hair back careful before quittin" time. Also that Vincent has taken to gettin" shaved once a week reg"lar now, instead of every month.

"And he seemed very nervous when he took away his savings," adds Piddie. "Of course, in my position I could ask for no confidences of a personal nature; but if someone else could have a talk with him.--Well, you, for example, Torchy."

"What a cute little idea!" says I. "What would be the openin" lines for that scene? Something like, "Come, my erring lad, rest your fair, sin-soaked head on my knee and tell your Uncle Torchy how you are secretly scheming to kidnap the rich gum profiteer"s lovely daughter and carry her off to Muckhurst-on-the-Marsh." Piddie, you"re a wonder."

I was still chucklin" over the notion as I breezed out to lunch, but as I pushes out of the express elevator and starts across the arcade toward the Broadway exit I lamps something over by the candy booth that leaves me with my mouth open. There is Vincent hung up against the counter gazin" mushy into the dark dangerous...o...b.. of Mirabelle, the box-trade queen.

Course, we all know Mirabelle in the Corrugated buildin", for she"s been presidin" over the candy counter almost as long as the arcade shops have been open. She"s what you might call an inst.i.tution; like Apollo Mike, the elevator starter; or old Walrus Smith, the night watchman. And I expect there ain"t a young hick or a middle-aged bookkeeper on all them twenty-odd floors but what has had his little thrill from gettin" in line, some time or another, with a cut-up look from them high voltage eyes. She"s just one of the many perils, Mirabelle is, that line the path of the poor working man in the great city. That is, she looks the part.

As a matter of fact, I"ve always had Mirabelle sized up as a near-vamp who had worked up the act to boost sales and cinch her job. Anyway, I never knew of her lurin" her victims into anything more desperate than a red-ink table d"hote dinner or a six-dollar orgie at a cabaret. And somehow they all seem to wriggle out of the net within a week or so with no worse casualties than a feverish yearnin" for next pay day and a wise look in the eyes. I"ve watched some of them young sports from the bond room have their little fling with Mirabelle and not one of "em has come out a human wreck.

Maybe they discover that Mirabelle has turned thirty. I"ll admit she don"t look it, "specially under the pink-shaded counter light when she"s had a henna treatment lately and been careful to spread the make-up artistic. The jet ear danglers helps some, too. Then there are them misbehavin" eyes. Also when it comes to light and frivolous chat Mirabelle is right there with the zippy patter. Oh my, yes! Try shootin"

anything fresh across when she"s wrappin" a pound of mixed chocolates and you"ll get a quick one back from Mirabelle. Probably a quizzin", twisty smile, too that sends you off kiddin" yourself that you"re quite a gay bird when you really cut loose, and where"s the harm once in a while? You know the kind.

But to think that Vincent should be fallin" for Mirabelle. Why, he sits there all day behind the gate in plain sight of a battery of twenty lady typists, some of "em as kittenish young things as ever blew a week"s salary into a permanent wave and I"ve never even seen him so much as roll an eye at one. Besides, he"s as perfect a specimen of a Mommer"s boy as you could find between here and the Battery. Not that he"s a male ingenue. He"s just a nice boy, Vincent, always neat and polite and ready to admit that he has the best little mother in the world. I don"t blame him for thinkin" so either, for I"ve seen her a couple of times and if I"m any judge she fits the description. She"s a widow, you know, and she and Vincent are strugglin" along on the life insurance until they make Vincent general manager or vice-president or something.

So, as I was telling you, it gives me more or less of a jolt to see Vincent flutterin" around Mirabelle. There"s no mistakin" the motions, either. He"s draped himself careless over the end of the counter and them big innocent blue eyes of his are fairly glued on Mirabelle, while a simple smile comes and goes, dependin" on whether she"s lookin" his way or not. Just as I stops to gawp at the proceedin"s he seems to be askin" her something, real eager and earnest. For a second Mirabelle arches her plucked eyebrows and puckers her lips coy as if she was lettin" on to be shocked. Then she glances around cautious to see if the coast is clear, reaches out and pats Vincent tender on the cheek and whispers something in his ear.

A minute later Mirabelle is smilin" mechanical at a fat man who"s stopped to buy a box of chocolate peppermints and Vincent is swingin"

past me with his chin up and his eyes bright. It don"t take any seventh son work to guess that Vincent has made a date. If it had been anybody else that wouldn"t have meant nothing at all to me, but as it is I can"t help feelin" that this was my cue. Just how or why I don"t stop to figure out, but I falls in behind and trails along.

Vincent should have been headin" for the dairy lunch, but he starts in the other direction and after followin" him for five blocks I sees him dive into a jewelry store. Maybe that don"t get a gasp out of me, too.

Looks like our little Vincent was some speedy performer, don"t it? And sure enough, by rubberin" in through the door, I can see a clerk haulin"

out a tray of rings. Think of that! Vincent.

He must have been in there before and looked over the stock, for inside of ten minutes out he comes again. And by makin" a quick maneuver I manages to b.u.mp into him as he"s leavin" the front door with the little white box in his fist.

"Well, well!" says I. "What"s all this mean, old son? Been buyin" out the spark shop? I expect somebody"s going to get a weddin" present, eh?"

"Not--not exactly," says Vincent, his cheeks pinkin" up and his right hand slidin" toward his coat pocket.

"Oh, ho!" says I, grabbin" the wrist and exposin" the little square package. "A ring or I"m a poor guesser. And it"s for the sweetest girl in the world, ain"t it?"

"It is," says Vincent, just a bit defiant.

"Congratulations, old man," says I, poundin" him friendly on the shoulder. "I don"t suppose I could guess who, could I?"

"I--I don"t think you could," says Vincent.

"Then it"s my blow to luncheon--reg"lar chop-house feed in honor of the big event," says I. "Come along, Vincent, while I order a bottle of one and a half per cent. to drink to your luck."

Course, he can"t very well get away from that, me being one of his bosses, as you might say. But he acts a little uneasy.

"You see, sir," says he, "it--it isn"t quite settled."

"I get you," says I. "Going to spring it on her tonight, eh?"

He admits that is the plan.

"Durin" the course of a little dinner, eh?" I goes on.

Vincent nods.

"That"s taking the high dive, all right," says I. "Lets you in deep, you know, when you go shovin" solitaires at "em. But I expect you"ve thought it over careful and picked out the right girl."

"She is perfectly splendid," says Vincent.

"Well, that helps some," says I. "One that Mother approves of, I"ll bet."

"Why," says Vincent, his chin droppin", "I am sure she will like her when--when she sees her."

"Let"s see, Vincent," says I, "you"re all of nineteen, ain"t you?"

"Nearly twenty," says he.

"How we do come along!" says I. "Why, when you took my old place on the gate you was still wearin" knickers, wasn"t you? And now--I suppose it"ll be a case of your bringin" home a new daughter to help Mother, eh?"

"Ye-e-es," says Vincent draggy.

"Lucky she"s the right kind, then," I suggests.

"She"s a wonderful girl, Torchy. Wonderful," says he.

"Well, I expect you"re a judge," says I.

"I"ve never known anyone just like her," he goes on, "and if she"ll have me----" He wags his head determined.

I was hardly lookin" for such a stubborn streak in Vincent. He"s always seemed so mild and modest. But you never can tell. There"s no doubt about his having his mind all made up about Mirabelle, and while her name ain"t mentioned once he consents to tell me what a perfectly sweet and lovely person she is. If I hadn"t had a hunch who he was talking about I"m afraid I never would have guessed from the description. She"d put the spell on him for fair. That being the way things stood what was the use of my coming in with an argument? The most I could do was to hint that Vincent"s salary as head office boy might be a bit strained when it came to providin" for two.

He has the answer to that, though. He"s got the promise of a filing clerk"s job the first of the year, with a raise every six months if he makes good.

"Besides," he adds, "I may pick up a little something extra very soon."

"Eh?" says I. "You ain"t been plungin" on a curb tip, have you?"

He nods. "It came to me very straight, sir," says he. "Oil stocks."

"Good-night!" I groans. "Say, Vincent, you"re off in high gear, all right. Matrimony and gushers, all at one clip! Lemme get my breath. Have you put up for the margins?"

"Oh, yes," says Vincent.

"Then have another piece of pie and a second cup of coffee," says I.

"You"re going to need bracin" up."

Not that I proceeds to deal out the wise stuff about oil stocks along the Talk to Investors line. It"s too late for that. Besides, Vincent was due to get a lesson in the folly of piker speculatin" that would last him a long time. Maybe it was best for him to get it early in his young career.