Page:Baum--Tamawaca folks.djvu/22

16 "Yes; for Wilder. A charming fellow, by the way. Looks like a cherub, and acts like"

"You interest me," said Jarrod, brightening. "I'm glad I'm going to Tamawaca."

A few days later the Jarrods—bag and baggage, parents and children—travelled up to Chicago and landed in the morning at the Auditorium Annex. A little fat man stood before the counter in front of Jarrod and winked saucily at the clerk. His face was moon-shaped and rosy, guiltless of whisker, and bore an expression at once gentle and whimsical.

"Gimme the best room you have," he called out, while scribbling his name on the register.

"Ah, a twenty-dollar suite?" asked the clerk, cheerfully.

"Hear me out!" retorted the little man. "Gimme the best room you have for four dollars a day."

"Oh," said the clerk, his jaw drop-