The Petticoats were one of the oldest and pride-fullest of New England families. So that settles the status of the Petticoats. A couple of them came over in the _Mayflower_, with the highboys and cradles and things, and they founded the branch of Connecticut Petticoats--than which, of course, there is nothing more so. Of course, the Petticoats were not in the very upper circles of society, not in the Dress Circle, so to speak, but they formed a very necessary foundation, they stood for propriety and decency, and the Petticoats were stiff enough to stand alone. Another fine old New England family, the Cottons. Intermarriage linked the two, and the Cotton-Petticoats crowded all other ancient and honorable names off the map of Connecticut and nodded condescendingly to the Saltonwells and Hallistalls. Abbotts and Cabots tried to patronize them, but the plain unruffled Cotton-Petticoats held their peace and their position. The present scion, Dr. Petticoat, was called Big Bill, not because of his name or stature, but because of the size of his bills. He presented them quarterly, and though his medicine was optional--the patient could take it or leave it--the bills had to be paid. Wherefore Dr. Petticoat was at the head of his profession financially. Also by reputation and achievement, for he had the big idea. He was a specialist, and, better yet, a specialist in Ptomaine Poisoning. Rigidly did he adhere to his chosen line, never swerving to right or left. People might die on one side of him from water on the brain and on the other side from water on the palate, not a prescription could they get out of Big Bill Petticoat unless they could put up unmistakable symptoms of ptomaine poisoning. And he was famous. People brought their ptomaines to him from the far places, his patients included the idlest rich, the bloatedest aristocrats, the most profitable of the profiteers. His Big Bill system worked well, and he was rich beyond the most Freudian dreams of avarice. As to appearance, Petticoat was very pretty, with that fresh rosy beauty that is so attractive. His walnut hair was fine and silky, but a permanent wave made it fuzz forth in a bushy crinkle that was distractingly lovely. His tweezed eyebrows were arched to a perfect span and his finger nails showed a piano polish. His features were cold-chiseled and his coloring was exquisite. In fact, his coloring was too good to be true, and no wonder, for it came out of a very modern and up-to-date six-cylinder makeup box. His lips looked as if they were used to giving orders in restaurants, and he wore clothes which you could never quite forget. Warble edged toward the stranger, and murmured nothing in particular, but somehow he drifted into the last and only vacant seat at her table. She whisked him a 2 x 2 napkin, dumped a clatter of flatware at him, and stood, awaiting his order. The pause becoming lengthy, she murmured with her engaging smile, “Whatcha want to eat?”