"Why," Nicely–Nicely says, "certainly I am not out of a sickbed. I am never healthier in my life. I am on a diet. I lose eighty–three pounds in two months, and am now down to two hundred. I feel great," he says. "It is all because of my fiancée, Miss Hilda Slocum. She rescues me from gluttony and obesity, or anyway," Nicely–Nicely says, "this is what Miss Hilda Slocum calls it. My, I feel good. I love Miss Hilda Slocum very much," Nicely–Nicely says. "It is a case of love at first sight on both sides the day we meet in the subway. I am wedged in one of the turnstile gates, and she kindly pushes on me from behind until I wiggle through. I can see she has a kind heart, so I date her up for a movie that night and propose to her while the newsreel is on. But," Nicely–Nicely says, "Hilda tells me at once that she will never marry a fat slob. She says I must put myself in her hands and she will reduce me by scientific methods and then she will become my ever–loving wife, but not before.
"So," Nicely–Nicely says, "I come to live here with Miss Hilda Slocum and her mother, so she can supervise my diet.
"My goodness gracious," Horsey says. "What do you eat, Nicely?"
"Well," Nicely–Nicely says, "I eat anything that does not contain starch, but," he says, "of course everything worth eating contains starch, so I really do not eat much of anything whatever. My fiancée, Miss Hilda Slocum, arranges my diet. She is an expert dietician and runs a widely known department in a diet magazine by the name of Let's Keep House."
Then Horsey tells Nicely–Nicely of how he is matched to eat against this Joel Duffle, and at first Nicely–Nicely listens with great interest, and his eyes are shining, but then he becomes very sad, and says:
"It is no use, gentlemen," he says. "My fiancée, Miss Hilda Slocum, will never hear of me going off my diet even for a little while. However," he says, "let us call Miss Hilda Slocum in and see what her reactions to your proposition are."
So we call Miss Hilda Slocum in, and her reactions are to order Horsey and me out of the joint with instructions never to darken her door again, and when we are a block away we can still hear her voice speaking very firmly to Nicely–Nicely.
Well, personally, I figure this ends the matter, if Horsey does not happen to get a wonderful break.