Psmith, Journalist - P. G. Wodehouse (i am reading a book TXT) 📗

have all met before. Except⁠—”

He glanced inquiringly at the little man with the peeled nose.

“My name is Wilberfloss,” said the other with austerity. “Will you be so good as to tell me where Mr. Windsor is?”

A murmur of approval from his followers.

“In one moment,” said Psmith. “First, however, let me introduce two important members of our staff. On your right, Mr. Bat Jarvis. On your left, Mr. Long Otto. Both of Groome Street.”

The two Bowery boys rose awkwardly. The cats fell in an avalanche to the floor. Long Otto, in his haste, trod on the dog, which began barking, a process which it kept up almost without a pause during the rest of the interview.

“Mr. Wilberfloss,” said Psmith in an aside to Bat, “is widely known as a cat fancier in Brooklyn circles.”

“Honest?” said Mr. Jarvis. He tapped Mr. Wilberfloss in friendly fashion on the chest. “Say,” he asked, “did youse ever have a cat wit one blue and one yellow eye?”

Mr. Wilberfloss sidestepped and turned once more to Psmith, who was offering B. Henderson Asher a cigarette.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“Who am I?” repeated Psmith in an astonished tone.

“Who are you?”

“I am Psmith,” said the old Etonian reverently. “There is a preliminary P before the name. This, however, is silent. Like the tomb. Compare such words as ptarmigan, psalm, and phthisis.”

“These gentlemen tell me you’re acting editor. Who appointed you?”

Psmith reflected.

“It is rather a nice point,” he said. “It might be claimed that I appointed myself. You may say, however, that Comrade Windsor appointed me.”

“Ah! And where is Mr. Windsor?”

“In prison,” said Psmith sorrowfully.

“In prison!”

Psmith nodded.

“It is too true. Such is the generous impulsiveness of Comrade Windsor’s nature that he hit a policeman, was promptly gathered in, and is now serving a sentence of thirty days on Blackwell’s Island.”

Mr. Wilberfloss looked at Mr. Philpotts. Mr. Asher looked at Mr. Wilberfloss. Mr. Waterman started, and stumbled over a cat.

“I never heard of such a thing,” said Mr. Wilberfloss.

A faint, sad smile played across Psmith’s face.

“Do you remember, Comrade Waterman⁠—I fancy it was to you that I made the remark⁠—my commenting at our previous interview on the rashness of confusing the unusual with the improbable? Here we see Comrade Wilberfloss, big-brained though he is, falling into error.”

“I shall dismiss Mr. Windsor immediately,” said the big-brained one.

“From Blackwell’s Island?” said Psmith. “I am sure you will earn his gratitude if you do. They live on bean soup there. Bean soup and bread, and not much of either.”

He broke off, to turn his attention to Mr. Jarvis and Mr. Waterman, between whom bad blood seemed to have arisen. Mr. Jarvis, holding a cat in his arms, was glowering at Mr. Waterman, who had backed away and seemed nervous.

“What is the trouble, Comrade Jarvis?”

“Dat guy dere wit two left feet,” said Bat querulously, “goes and treads on de kit. I⁠—”

“I assure you it was a pure accident. The animal⁠—”

Mr. Wilberfloss, eyeing Bat and the silent Otto with disgust, intervened.

“Who are these persons, Mr. Smith?” he inquired.

“Poisson yourself,” rejoined Bat, justly incensed. “Who’s de little guy wit de peeled breezer, Mr. Smith?”

Psmith waved his hands.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” he said, “let us not descend to mere personalities. I thought I had introduced you. This, Comrade Jarvis, is Mr. Wilberfloss, the editor of this journal. These, Comrade Wilberfloss⁠—Zam-buk would put your nose right in a day⁠—are, respectively, Bat Jarvis and Long Otto, our acting fighting editors, vice Kid Brady, absent on unavoidable business.”

“Kid Brady!” shrilled Mr. Wilberfloss. “I insist that you give me a full explanation of this matter. I go away by my doctor’s orders for ten weeks, leaving Mr. Windsor to conduct the paper on certain well-defined lines. I return yesterday, and, getting into communication with Mr. Philpotts, what do I find? Why, that in my absence the paper has been ruined.”

“Ruined?” said Psmith. “On the contrary. Examine the returns, and you will see that the circulation has gone up every week. Cosy Moments was never so prosperous and flourishing. Comrade Otto, do you think you could use your personal influence with that dog to induce it to suspend its barking for a while? It is musical, but renders conversation difficult.”

Long Otto raised a massive boot and aimed it at the animal, which, dodging with a yelp, cannoned against the second cat and had its nose scratched. Piercing shrieks cleft the air.

“I demand an explanation,” roared Mr. Wilberfloss above the din.

“I think, Comrade Otto,” said Psmith, “it would make things a little easier if you removed that dog.”

He opened the door. The dog shot out. They could hear it being ejected from the outer office by Master Maloney. When there was silence, Psmith turned courteously to the editor.

“You were saying, Comrade Wilberfloss?”

“Who is this person Brady? With Mr. Philpotts I have been going carefully over the numbers which have been issued since my departure⁠—”

“An intellectual treat,” murmured Psmith.

“⁠—and in each there is a picture of this young man in a costume which I will not particularise⁠—”

“There is hardly enough of it to particularise.”

“⁠—together with a page of disgusting autobiographical matter.”

Psmith held up his hand.

“I protest,” he said. “We court criticism, but this is mere abuse. I appeal to these gentlemen to say whether this, for instance, is not bright and interesting.”

He picked up the current number of Cosy Moments, and turned to the Kid’s page.

“This,” he said. “Describing a certain ten-round unpleasantness with one Mexican Joe. ‘Joe comes up for the second round and he gives me a nasty look, but I thinks of my mother and swats him one in the lower ribs. He hollers foul, but nix on that. Referee says, “Fight on.” Joe gives me another nasty look. “All right, Kid,” he says; “now I’ll knock you up into the gallery.” And with that he cuts loose with a right swing, but I falls into the clinch, and then⁠—!’ ”

“Bah!” exclaimed Mr. Wilberfloss.

“Go on, boss,” urged Mr. Jarvis approvingly. “It’s to de good, dat stuff.”

“There!” said Psmith triumphantly. “You heard? Comrade Jarvis, one of the most firmly established critics east of Fifth Avenue, stamps Kid Brady’s reminiscences with the hallmark of his approval.”

“I falls fer de Kid every time,” assented Mr. Jarvis.

“Assuredly,