“But he has my bag.”
“Yes. I suggest you follow him closely. He’s not to be
trusted, you know.”
“But . . . Ohhh . . .!”
I knew when I had been outmaneuvered. Apparently, all
the doorman did was open cab doors and off-load the bag-
gage . . . not carry the bags inside. Of course, the fact that
I had tipped him assuming he would perform that service
was my fault, not his. Defeated, I trailed after the bellhop,
who was waiting inside with his hand out in the now all-too-
familiar gesture that means “Pay or you’ll never see the
end of me.” This time, however, I was more than happy
to pay him off. Whatever Edvik had said, I had decided I
would be better off handling my own luggage from here on
out.
Kalvin muttered something in my ear about not paying
the help until they had finished their work, but the bellhop
seemed to understand what it was all about, since he disap-
peared as soon as I paid him. Ignoring Kalvin’s grumbles,
54 Robert Asprin
I turned my attention to the hotel interior.
The reception area wasn’t much larger than the space we
used for similar purposes back at M.Y.T.H. Inc., except
the furnishings were dominated by a huge counter which I
assumed was what the doorman had referred to as the front
desk. Of course, to my mind this made the lobby rather
small since, as a hotel, this place was supposed to get more
public traffic than our consulting offices did. Personally, I
felt it boded ill for the size of the rooms. Then again, I had
told Edvik to take us somewhere inexpensive. I supposed I
couldn’t expect low rates and stylish accomodations, and