Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-03-05

heart to drag her away. I was a BIT
curious about him, too. and finally
! took Ames Hunt one side and asked
| for details.
who Is this Robert Staples?" I de-
manded.
| "Eh?" says he. Bob Staples? Why
he-he's just one of those fellows
you know. You see him around
| everywhere-irst nights. at clubs
studio affairs such as this. prize
| fights. at the races. and week ending
at country houses. He's what the
| newspaper writer's describe as man.
| about-town. A good sport. be-
! lieve."
i What has he got to sport on?"
| asked.
Ames Hunt shrugged his shoulders.
| Now you're getting into personal
! statistics" says he. I'm AFRAID I've
told you all 1 know about Bob-per-
haps a little more"
But that didn't explain him. 1t
| simply made him more mysterious.
So tried pumping Mrs. Jimmy. with
out any great success. She turned
those baby blue eyes of hers full on
me and favored me with one Of her
hard little smiles when l asked if Mr..
Staples wasn't most interesting
, man.
Positively fascinating. my dear
said she. THAT is. If you happen to
be in a Bob Staples mood: and if
you're not he will discover it before
you do. Few men are so gifted" -T
1 suppose she thought that clever. for
! that is Mrs. Jimmy's line. But It didn't
help very much. However, I was sure
/ Clara would have the whole story. Ger
tainly they'd had a chance to tell each
other everything worth knowing. for at
$50 they were still talking earnestly in
the corner and seemed rather surprised
when l suggested that every one was
going.
"Oh. we'll" says Clara. "But Bob
! is coming around to have dinner with
U.S."
That's nice" says I.
y
| 4 Nd as we gave him a lift uptown
in Clara's coupe I had only few
minutes alone with her. I'm not sure.
either, that improved what little time
had.
Then your Bob never married. !
asked.
why" says Clara. IL don't know
He didn't say and couldn't ask. could
II"
i Evidently you didn't" says /. But
where has he been since he quit being
gas office clerk"
"Oh. everywhere" says Clara
| Nearly all over the world. I think. You
should hear him talk about living in
strange places-Biskra, Port Said, 10.
i hannesburg. Mentone, Calcutta"
| who was he drawing maps for"
asked.
! 'Maps?" says Clara.
| "Or what was his line Of goods:"
went on. You know they don't issue
| round the world passes to ex-clerks.
Not as a rule
But it seems that Mr.. Staples hadn't
gone into details as to how his travels
had been financed. II don't think he
was selling things" says Clara. HE
spoke of hunting trips. and Of being en-
tertained on yachts. and Of watching
various kinds of sports. from tiger
J shooting in India to ski jumping in
Switzerland. 1t was fascinating to listen
to any one who had actually seen all
those things and places. Do you know.
Trilby May. he is Just the sort Of man
! I've been hoping to meet. And to think
that he should be Bob Staples" IT,.
YES" says I, that's the odd part. y
| Well, Mr.. Staples in dinner coat
looked more like q foreign diplomat than
ever. even If the sleeves were a trifie
shiny at the elbows and too many home
DRESSINGS. Somehow or other. too, he
managed to do most Of the ordering. he
insisted on mixing the salad dressing
himself. and he told the waiter to bring
on a coffee machine when 1t came time
for the little cups. Also he didn't hesi-
tate to name his favorite brands OF
cigars and cigarettes. But I failed to
hear him make any pretest when Clara
signed the bill and tipped the waiter.
I had phoned for theater tickets. too
and those were on US. Perhaps I didn'>
know his past. but I guess his motto.
think what he had pasted in his hat
would read:
1.-The woman pays, and pays, and
pays"
Yet it was almost worth the price.
He called the head waiter Louie. and
nodded friendly to the orchestra leader,
who waved back at him. Half q dozen
other diners hailed him Is Bob ana
twice he declined dinner invitations Tor
later in the week. And there was no
mistake about his having been q globe
trotter. He talked as familiarly about
the Bund in Hongkong and the Prado
in Havana and the Wilhelmstrasse in