Короли и капуста

           ThattomfoolletterwesentruinedwhateverchanceIhadleft.She’lldespisemewhenshefindsoutthatheroldfatherhasbeenmadethevictimofajokethatadecentschoolboywouldn’thavebeenguiltyof.Shoes!Whyhecouldn’tselltwentypairsofshoesinCoralioifhekeptstoreherefortwentyyears.YouputapairofshoesononeoftheseCaribsorSpanishbrownboysandwhat’dhedo?Standonhisheadandsquealuntilhe’dkicked’emoff.Noneof’emeverworeshoesandtheyneverwill.IfIsend’embackhomeI’llhavetotellthewholestory,andwhat’llshethinkofme?Iwantthatgirlworsethanever,Billy,andnowwhenshe’sinreachI’velostherforeverbecauseItriedtobefunnywhenthethermometerwasat102."

           "Keepcheerful,"saidtheoptimisticKeogh."Andlet’emopenthestore.I’vebeenbusymyselfthisafternoon.Wecanstirupatemporaryboominfoot-gearanyhow.I’llbuysixpairswhenthedoorsopen.I’vebeenaroundandseenallthefellowsandexplainedthecatastrophe.They’llallbuyshoesliketheywascentipedes.FrankGoodwinwilltakecasesof’em.TheGeddieswantaboutelevenpairsbetween’em.Clancyisgoingtoinvestthesavingsofweeks,andevenoldDocGreggwantsthreepairsofalligator-hideslippersifthey’vegotanytens.BlanchardgotalookatMissHemstetter;andashe’saFrenchman,nolessthanadozenpairswilldoforhim."

           "Adozencustomers,"saidJohnny,"fora$4,000stockofshoes!Itwon’twork.There’sabigproblemheretofigureout