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Wally walked in and we had our usual exchange of a couple of jokes. He loves to tell jokes and I love to tell jokes and they're not always parlor jokes either! Finally we got down to brass tacks. He brought out a little role of adding machine paper with a rubber band around it. He said, “Have you any idea how much money the Readers Digest has paid Random House over the last six years?" I thought, “Here it comes,” and quavered, “I don't know how much, Wally. I know it's an awful lot.” He said, “It's over a million dollars.” I said, “Really”--dreading what this was leading to.

"Now,” he said, “I want something from you. I am very interested in a college out in St. Paul called Macalester. I want you to deliver a lecture there this fall.” Well, all the weight of the world fell off at once; and I said, “Oh, Wally, I'll be delighted to.” He said, “You're not going to do it for nothing. I don't think that way, but I have persuaded all of the people that I have asked to go out there to do it for half of their regular fee.” I said, “I will be delighted to do it for nothing.” He said, “no, no, no. What do you get for lecturing in colleges?" I said, “Well, the standard college fee is $1,000.” He said, “All right, we'll pay you $500. I don't even want you to make a special trip to St. Paul. I happen to have found out that you're speaking at the University of Minnesota on November something. If you'll come to Macalester that morning, I've gotten permission from Prof. Lombard at the University of Minnesota to have you do so.”