, a large red-faced man with pop eyes and a
deficient yellow mustache. He seemed kind and insignificant, and as
lonely as Babbitt himself. He wore a tweed suit and a reluctant orange
tie.

It came to Babbitt with a pyrotechnic crash. The melancholy stranger was
Sir Gerald Doak.

Instinctively Babbitt rose, bumbling, "How 're you, Sir Gerald? 'Member
we met in Zenith, at Charley McKelvey's? Babbitt's my name--real
estate."

"Oh! How d' you do." Sir Gerald shook hands flabbily.

Embarrassed, standing, wondering how he could retreat, Babbitt
maundered, "Well, I suppose you been having a great trip since we saw
you in Zenith."

"Quite. British Columbia and California and all over the place," he said
doubtfully, looking at Babbitt lifelessly.

"How did you find business conditions in British Columbia? Or I suppose
maybe you didn't look into 'em. Scenery and sport and so on?"

"Scenery? Oh, capital. But business conditions--You know, Mr. Babbitt,
they're having almost as much unemployment as we are." Sir Gerald was
speaking warmly now.

"So? Business conditions not so doggone good, eh?"

"No, business conditions weren't at all what I'd hoped to find them."

"Not good, eh?"

"No, not--not really good."

"That's a darn shame. Well--I suppose you're waiting for somebody to
take you out to some big shindig, Sir Gerald."

"Shindig? Oh. Shindig. No, to tell you the truth, I was wondering what
the deuce I could do this evening. Don't know a soul in Tchicahgo. I
wonder if you happen to know whether there's a good theater in this
city?"

"Good? Why say, they're running grand opera right now! I guess maybe
you'd like that."

"Eh? Eh? Went to the opera once in London. Covent Garden sort of thing.
Shocking! No, I was wondering if there was a good cinema-movie."

Babbitt was sitting down, hitching his chair over, shouting, "Movie?
Say, Sir Gerald, I supposed of course you had a raft of dames waiting to
lead you out to some soiree--"

"God forbid!"

"--but if you haven't, what do you say you and me go to a movie? There's
a peach of a film at the Grantham: Bill Hart in a bandit picture."

"Right-o! Just a moment while I get my coat."

Swollen with greatness, slightly afraid lest the noble blood of
Nottingham change its mind and leave him at any street corner, Babbitt
paraded with Sir Gerald Doak to the movie palace and in silent bliss sat
beside him, trying not to be too enthusiastic, lest the knight despise
his