Chapter XV

Nixie! I'm not canned chicken till I'm cooked,
And hope still rooms in this pneumatic chest,
While something's doing underneath my vest
That makes me think I'm squiffier than I looked.
Mayhap Love knew my class when I was booked
As one shade speedier than second best
To knock the previous records galley west,
While short-end suckers on my bait were hooked.

Mayhap--I give it up--but this I know:
When I saw Mamie on the line today
She turned her happy searchlights on me so,
And grinned so like a living picture--say,
If a real lady threw you such a chunk,
Could n't she pack her Raglan in your trunk?