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The combined effect of the coat and drink episodes neatly woven together was to turn the party into a near riot. The coat affair furnished the excuse for the laughing, which was also at the Winston episode but very conveniently disguised the fact. Bowers didn't know what to think. Winston suggested that undoubtedly the clerk had wrapped up two bundles at the same time and handed us the wrong one, so that some yokel had Bowers coat which was almost cruel. Taft was in a perfect mood and put on the coat which just fitted him with a pillow stuffed inside to fill it out. He also put on an orange jockey cap he had bought and paraded around that way with the inevitable cigar - I was afraid Mrs. Bowers would have a heart attack from laughing. I got a movie of Taft in this outfit which I pray will turn out okay for posterity! The party really was a wow! I think everyone laughed more than I've ever seen at Shanty Shane and when it was over a lot of them were still guessing as to where the real coat was.

Later, after supper, we were down at the office, and Winston, an able accomplice, on his own initiative told Earl Graves the story, so Earl handed Bowers a telephone message from "a store in Bradford" saying there had been some "mixup about a coat Mr. Bowers had bought" and would he "please phone them in the morning." That had poor Collis grieving more than ever. So he proposed that Taft and I go to Bradford tomorrow morning with him, get the mixup straightened out and then play the 9 hole Bradford golf course, which we agreed to do, having played some golf together today on the Shanty course, during which I rather surprised myself to find I was almost on a par with Collis and better than Taft.