Chapter 2
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wouldn't have missed Lenny’s place for anything. It was built exactly like the inside of a ranch, only in the middleof a New York apartment house. He'd had a few partitions knockeddown to make the place broaden out, he said, and then had thempine-panel the walls and fit up a special pine-panelled bar in theshape of a horseshoe. I think the floor was pine-panelled, too. Great white bearskins lay about underfoot, and the only furniturewas a lot of low beds covered with Indian rugs. Instead of pictureshung up on the walls, he had antlers and buffalo horns and a stuffedrabbit head. Lenny jutted a thumb at the meek little grey muzzle andstiff jackrabbit ears. “Ran over that in Las Vegas.” He walked away across the room, his cowboy boots echoing likepistol shots. “Acoustics,” he said, and grew smaller and smaller untilhe vanished through a door in the distance. All at once music started to come out of the air on every side.Then it stopped, and we heard Lenny’s voice say “This is your twelveo'clock disc jock, Lenny Shepherd, with a round-up of the tops inpops. Number Ten in the wagon train this week is none other thanthat little yaller-haired gal you been hearin’ so much about lately ...the one an’ only Sunflower!” I was born in Kansas, I was bred in Kansas, And when I marry I'll be wed in Kansas... “What a card!” Doreen said. “Isn't he a card?” “You bet,” I said. “Listen, Elly, do me a favour” She seemed to think Elly was who Ireally was by now. “Sure.” I said. “Stick around, will you? I wouldn't have a chance if he triedanything funny. Did you see that muscle?” Doreen giggled. Lenny popped out of the back room. “I got twenty grand’s worth 20 | Chapter 2 of recording equipment in there.” He ambled over to the bar and setout three glasses and a silver ice-bucket and a big pitcher and beganto mix drinks from several different bottles. ...to a true-blue gal who promised she would wait—
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