Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-04-22


in hotel corridor while boy droned
through the building paging a guest?
Perhaps you have wondered then what
language it is that bell boys speak. and
how it is to be interpreted Personally
recommend paging by telepathy. but
you can't get a modern hotel man in
terested in it at all.
I had an experience with a paging
bell boy only last week that proves
am absolutely correct. 1t was in a
large New York hotel. where thousands
course of an hour. An establishme ut
of gigantic size. with the barber shop
a half mile from the front door, a nd
the tearoom four and a half acres in
extent, and the prices built on even a
more magnificent scale. The bell boys
are employed in battalions; front"
line of defense, one might say. and it
was one Of those cute little brass but
toned things that took my card.
l wanted to see a man named James
J. O'Brien:
Front softly cooed girl who
handled the paging end of the hotel.
page Mr.. O'Brien for this gentleman"
just at that precise moment some one
| else drifted to the cooling girls little
cage. and asked to have Mr. Mark
Schuyler PACED.
| She gave the name to the same boy,
who was preparing to do a days march
| through the hotel in search of Mr..
O'Brien.
SO the boy started Off.
| This is what he said:
"Mr. Shimbleshanks! Mr.. Jinjibo.
Mr.. Shimbleshanks! Mr.. Jin1fbo. Mr..
Shimbleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo. Mr.. Shin
bleshanks''
| He ducked into a crowd of people
outside a palmroom door. and I couldn't
stop him. But through the crowd of
people. who were talking loud and
| laughing. | heard his weird call.
| Mr.. Shimbleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo. Mr.
Shimbleshanks. Mr. Jinjibo. Mr.. Shin
bleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo."
He PACED all through the palmroom
but neither Mr.. O'Brien nor Mr.. Schuy-
Ter recognized the call. and If they were
| there neither one arose and presented
himself
| Then from the palmroom the boy
strobe swiftly through the writing
room, with most intelligent look upon
his brow rs he carried out his mission
so manfully and so articulately:
! Mr.. Shimbleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo. Mr.
Shimbleshanks! Mr.. Jinjibo. Mr.. SHIN
bleshanks! Mr.. Jfnjibo. Mr.. Shimble-
shanks! Mr.. Jinjibo."
They were not there.
The page went to the bar and encir-
cled all the little tables, asking for Mr.
Shimbleshanks and Mr.. Jinjibo. but his
remarkable plea made no stir. No one
| arose to ask the lad whom he really
| sought. He just went on through:
| "Mr. Shimbleshanks! Mr.. Jinjibo."
| From there he marched to some other
recess of the big hotel. but 1 did not
follow him Instead I took a short cut
and reached the barber shop and waited
to hear this outiandish performance
tried out on the tonsorial end of the
business
After fifteen minutes I heard him
coming away down the hall.
Mr.. Shimbleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo; Mr.
| Shimbleshanks, Mr.. Jinjibo"
| He walked right by me, roaring
those words and reminding people OF
the incarnation of an Indian medicine
man who is about to chase a particu-
larly resourceful evil spirit from the
body of wicked old chief.
| I asked him who he was paging; he
| showed me the card.
| ooh, you want Mr.. O'Brien and Mr.
| Schuyler"
Yes. sir" he answered with grave
| respect, and went off again. bawling:
Mr.. Shimbleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo; Mr.
Shimbleshanks. Mr.. Jinjibo."
| After that 1 trotted back to the
office to be in at the death i leaned
| against the cooling girls cage and
waited. Soon the bright little mar
appeared. trying to look as il he had
earned a large tip. He looked me
squarely in the eye:
Don't answer, sir. Thank you. sir
But that didn't end the matter at all
| Now / am cursed and pursued by Mr.
| Shimbleshanks and Mr.. Jinjibo wherever
| CO. 1t is like Mark Twain's jingle:
Punch. brothers. punch; punch with care;
| Punch in the presence Of the passengaire
| hear it always Riding in a
rickety jitney over loose car tracks