"I don't exactly know what to do about him," she said, shaking her head,
"he's so sort of wild all the time. I would n't like to have him say
anything rough to that nice old man. The Colonel is long-winded, but then
I expect he's lonesome. I don't think he cares much for Ordinsky, either.
He said once that if I had any complaints to make of my neighbors, I must
n't hesitate."
One Saturday evening when I was having supper with Lena we heard a knock
at her parlor door, and there stood the Pole, coatless, in a dress shirt
and collar. Prince dropped on his paws and began to growl like a mastiff,
while the visitor apologized, saying that he could not possibly come in
thus attired, but he begged Lena to lend him some safety pins.
"Oh, you'll have to come in, Mr. Ordinsky, and let me see what's the
matter." She closed the door behind him. "Jim, won't you make Prince
behave?"
I rapped Prince on the nose, while Ordinsky explained that he had not had
his dress clothes on for a long time, and to-night, when he was going to
play for a concert, his waistcoat had split down the back. He thought he
could pin it together until he got it to a tailor.
Lena took him by the elbow and turned him round. She laughed when she saw
the long gap in the satin. "You could never pin that, Mr. Ordinsky. You've
kept it folded too long, and the goods is all gone along the crease.
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