' I
used to be crazy over it when I was a youngster. My grandfather brought
it to me from Europe, and made a translation for us youngsters."
"Sure! Those pictures'd make a reformer laugh. I picked up the book in
German on an Ann Street sidewalk stand, caught the Big Idea right then
and there; to Americanize the stuff and--"
"For 'Americanize,' read 'steal,'" commented Edmonds.
"There ain't no thin' crooked in this," protested the other with
sincerity. "The stuff ain't copyrighted here. I looked that up
particularly."
"Quite true, I believe," confirmed Severance. "It's an open field."
"I got ten series mapped out to start. Call 'em 'The Trouble-hunter
Twins, Ruff and Reddy.' If they catch on, the artist and me can keep 'em
goin' forever. And they'll catch."
"I believe they will," said Severance.
"Smeared across the top of a page it'll make a business man laugh as
hard as a kid. I know business men. I was one, myself. Sold bar fixtures
on the road for four years. And my best selling method was the laughs I
got out of 'em. Used to take a bit of chalk and do sketches on the
table-tops. So I know what makes 'em laugh. Belly-laughs. You make a
business man laugh that way, and you get his business. It ain't
circulation alone; it's advertising that the stuff will bring in.
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