II.
“See that fellow going out?” the barbers said to their customers three years later. “Used to work here, but quit last year to take care of all his money. Philip Jadwin gave him some tips…. G’by, Earl. Come in more often.”
He came often. He liked the familiar cosmetic smell from the manicure corner, where the girls sat in white uniforms, freshly clean and faintly sweating lip rouge and cologne; he liked the gleaming nickel of the chairs, the sight of a case of keen razors, the joking abuse of the colored porter that made the hours pass. Sometimes he just sat around and read a paper. But he was hurried tonight, going to a party, so he got into his car and drove home.
It was a nice house in a new development, not large or lavish, for Earl wasn’t throwing away his money. In fact, he had
