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would mutter to an attendant at his elbow and which would be
swiftly relayed to the door staff. The number thirteen, for example,
signified: "the fellow is poison; give him the bounce;" number
one hundred meant: "give him the best of everything and a bottle
of champagne on the house," while sixty.five or some such indi–
cated: "stop serving him after the tenth Scotch but give his lady a
.bottle of free perfume with my compliments."The system worked
fine until one evening when an .unsuitable patron had been firmly
refused admission and shown the door only to reappear a couple of
minutes later with a broad leer on his face and on either arm a
liberally beribboned and entirely presentable service man whom
he had acquired on the sidewalk and whose welcome was universal
and obligatory.
•
Sherman's systems have always had their limitations. A number
of years ago he dreamed up a particularly complicated code by
which the accustomed messages of hospitality or the bounce were
to be relayed by a complicated arrangement of gestures.
If
the Boss
tugged
his
left ear lobe it meant "out into the night with the goon; "
lighting a cigarette signified "a ringside table" or
if
he blinked his
eyes rapidly it informed the captain"let the fellow into the bar
but say the Cub Room is full."
The very first night the new order went into effect all hell broke
loose at the Stork. The Master absent-mindedly spilled salt, fiddled ·
with the ash tray or waved his napkin to illustrate a comrersational
point and right away notorious drunks were plied with ardent waters
gratis, old friends of the establishment and celebrated names had
their hats pushed over their ears and were being urged into the
outer darkness and the Cub Room was peopled with folk of no con–
sequence whatsoever. That was the end of
that
system, but instanter!
If
the writer of the moment may add his two cents' worth to the
symposium on what activates the Stork and makes its functioning
x: Stork Club Bar Book