"Chertainly, I'll leave the grounds.

There's always room for me outside." He took the skirt off his coat, heavy with the contributions of the guests, in his hand, and strolled joyously through the gate.
"Ta-ta," he said.

"Good-bye, Billy, dear ole Billy, dear, old, fat-headed, bumptious Billy!" Feeling like a king, Nickie the Kid passed down the road, and the morning sun glittered on the emblem on his breast.

He was still sustaining the character..