As he followed Dietrich onto the makeshift, pool-table stage in the basement, Moptop couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to go horribly awry. Dietrich strapped on his guitar and began playing--it was a song Moptop knew, but had never actually played, so he did his best to follow along. Just when things were starting to fall into place, the lights in the basement dimmed slightly, and three students from Miskatonic emerged from the small crowd.
"Dear God," Moptop thought. One of them spoke.
"Okay! Well, that was good, but since we're here to do a music ed workshop, I think we'll step in and discuss here."
"You've got to be kidding!" Moptop exclaimed. The girl laughed and began her presentation. Though outraged, Moptop was unsure of an effective plan to quash the proceedings. He decided it would be best to seduce one of them, and began a half-hearted attempt to do this as Dietrich provided the appropriate "wah-wah" guitar accompaniment. The response from the recipient was lukewarm at best, so Moptop decided to simply leave.
He wandered to the center of the city's marketplace, where he found a nightclub and slipped in amongst the patrons. "Swanky joint," he thought, as he considered the decor and fashion of those inside, which were all evocative of the 1920s. Most of the women were dressed in furs and the men in white tuxedos. He stood under the main support arch of the building and gazed up at the paintings on the ceiling.
Mr. P appeared from the crowd and approached Moptop. "The acoustics in here are incredible!" he proclaimed. "I can't wait to sing in here!"
Moptop was about to respond, but caught a peripheral flash of a figure running out of the club. It appeared to be one of the formally-attired women he had seen milling about.
Mr. C tapped Moptop on the shoulder as Moptop started to follow the woman. "Have you noticed the acoustics in here? Wow. They're just great."
"Yeah, I noticed," said Moptop, who then ignored Mr. C and continued following the woman.
She had stepped outside into the rain in the alleyway, where she was approached by a street waif selling newspapers. As the child approached, trying to goad her into buying a paper, the woman pulled out a tommy gun. Moptop dove behind a garbage can.
The woman pulled the trigger, pelting the child with thousands of bullets. However, Moptop realized that the gun was actually more of a high-powered flashlight, as it was shooting beams of incredibly bright light. "You're gonna wish you had some eyedrops now, kid!" the woman screamed, laughing maniacally as she continued the attack.
The authorities soon arrived on horseback and apprehended the female gangster, and the removal of her evil presence had surprising results. Moptop noticed that many of the shops' wares began disappearing.
"Ah, no more unnecessary expense!" sighed a relieved shopkeeper, whose basket of corn had shrunk to half its size. "You see," the man explained, "If there is less of my corn sitting out, more will be bought and less of it will rot. Try some and see!"
The man held an ear of corn into Moptop's face.
"Try some!"
"No."
