Earl Derr Biggers

“ And, more important, how should she make known to the wearer of the one hat the fact that life held only him for her? Other girls, by the grace of social equality, might by smile and glance and blush indicate preferences. But she—she was only a machine that cared for hats. How could she make it known, when the one hat came, that she was flesh and blood, and had a heart—a heart that could recognize its mate. ”

“ Amid roses and music that brought smiles to the lips of women, and half-page advertisements that similarly affected newspaper men, the hostelry's doors were thrown open.
Other things, too, January brought: among them the surprise of Senator Duncombe's eventful life. For several years the children of progress in the state had waged war on his grim stand-pat-ism. He had laughed merrily at their efforts; as he waved the impressive hat up and down the countryside, he had heaped ridicule upon them. Now the legislature had met, and his insurgent opponent, Seaton, had shown remarkable strength. ”

“ Have other men told you that? I said so the first night I saw you. I tell you, you Middle West girls—”
And at the gate before her home:
“Say—do you realize it?—I didn't—I've walked all the way up here bare-headed. Tell me—do you like me—without the hat?”
Myra Pearson looked up at him, and the April moon had added its own magic to her face.
“I know now,” she said softly, “that a man is something more than a hat.”
“Take me inside,” answered Mr. Norris. “I want to meet—your mother.” ”

“ Norris is dead now. I hear his son's back from the East and is working against the Senator. They get fool notions in the East. What do you want to know for?”
“Because,” answered Miss Pearson.
In the days that followed she turned to the newspapers for information. From one she learned that Senator Duncombe was saint-like, kindly, capable, the innocent victim of black demagogues. From the other side she gathered that he most resembled Satan, that his pockets were lined with ill-gotten gains, and that his fingers itched for more. ”

“ Women and men alike put articles of apparel in her keeping, and often her fingers caressed the gay plumage of her sisters. But it was man and his hat that most concerned her. For she was young, eager-eyed, romantic, and man was the great experience. ”

“ With him was a man whom Miss Pearson recognized from pictures in the paper as Seaton, Duncombe's opponent in the Senatorial race. She took the hat that had fascinated her, and received its owner's kindly smile and “thank you.” As the two entered the dining-room, there ensued a conversation:
“Notice that girl, Seaton?”
“Which girl?”
“The at the one hat-stand. Rather pretty, isn't she?”
“Why—er—yes.”
“She's a corker. I tell you, Seaton, these Middle West girls make all the rest of 'em look like the pictures of beautiful heiresses you see in the newspapers. They win in a walk. ”

“ For the painted splendors of Babylon did not, as a matter of strict fact, fill him with the horror he described. Squab, and capon, and sauce Bernaise, and an orchestra behind the palms, had been known to soothe his versatile soul in democratic corners of the land. However, he was not sorry he had impressed on Buck O'Neill his scorn for fol-der-rol. The question of his return to the Senate would soon be raised, and Buck was an influential member of the state legislature.
January saw the last workman hurried from the Hotel Porcellian, and the first bell-boy installed. ”

“ He laid the famous hat on the show-case, while Buck O'Neill wide-eyed, expecting the glass to crash beneath so much dignity and weight.
“I don't hold with these new-fangled notions.” And Senator Duncombe applied a handkerchief to his perspiring, noble brow. “They may be all right in the effete East, but out here among the plain people they're a downright insult. I've et for nearly sixty years without any Merry Widow waltz keeping time for me, and I reckon I could go on doing it. And if a man can do more effective work with a knife, why in thunderation should he be made to use a fork?” ”

“ You're young, and foolish. Have your fling—you don't bother me any. And the son of my old law partner is my friend, whichever side of the political fence he's on. Come up to the house and see us whenever you get time. ”