At Carrie’s, Tanis did not have to work at being hostess. She was dignified and sure, a clear fine figure in the black chiffon frock he had always loved; and in the wider spaces of that ugly house Babbitt was able to sit quietly with her. He repented of his first revulsion, mooned at her feet, and happily drove her home. Next day he bought a violent yellow tie, to make himself young for her. He knew, a little sadly, that he could not make himself beautiful; he beheld himself as heavy, hinting of fatness, but he danced, he dressed, he chattered, to be as young as she was... as young as she seemed to be. IV As all converts, whether to a religion, love, or gardening, find as by magic that though hitherto these hobbies have not seemed to exist, now the whole world is filled with their fury, so, once he was converted to dissipation, Babbitt discovered agreeable opportunities for it everywhere. He had a new view of his sporting neighbor, Sam Doppelbrau. The Doppelbraus were respectable people, industrious people, prosperous people, whose ideal of happiness was an eternal cabaret. Their life was dominated by suburban bacchanalia of alcohol, nicotine, gasoline, and kisses. They and their set worked capably all the week, and all week looked forward to Saturday night, when they would, as they expressed it, “throw a party;” and the thrown party grew noisier and noisier up to Sunday dawn, and usually included an extremely rapid motor expedition to nowhere in particular. One evening when Tanis was at the theater, Babbitt found himself being lively with the Doppelbraus, pledging friendship with men whom he had for years privily denounced to Mrs. Babbitt as a “rotten bunch of tin-horns that I wouldn’t go out with, not if they were the last people on earth.” That evening he had sulkily come home and poked about in front of the house, chipping off the walk the ice-clots, like fossil footprints, made by the steps of passers-by during the recent snow. Howard Littlefield came up snuffling. “Still a widower, George?” “Yump. Cold again to-night.” “What do you hear from the wife?” “She’s feeling fine, but her sister is still pretty sick.” “Say, better come in and have dinner with us to-night, George.” “Oh--oh, thanks. Have to go out.” Suddenly he could not endure Littlefield’s recitals of the more interesting statistics about totally uninteresting problems. He scraped at the walk and grunted. Sam Doppelbrau appeared. “Evenin’, Babbitt. Working hard?” “Yuh, lil exercise.” “Cold enough for you to-night?” “Well, just about.” “Still a widower?” “Uh-huh.” “Say, Babbitt, while she’s away-- I know you don’t care much for booze-fights, but the Missus and I’d be awfully glad if you could come in some night. Think you could stand a good cocktail for once?” “Stand it? Young fella, I bet old Uncle George can mix the best cocktail in these United States!”