Say, at
the end of a dance some of them youths didn't know whether they was
leadin' Polly to a corner or walkin' over a pink cloud with snowshoes
on. And friend Dot ain't such a poor performer herself. Her strong line
seems to be to listen to 'em patient while they tells her all they know,
and remark enthusiastic at intervals: "Oh, I think that's simp-ly
won-n-n-nderful!" After they'd hear her say it about five times most of
'em seemed to agree with her that they were wonderful, and I heard one
young hick confide to another: "She's a good pal, Dot. Understands a
fellow, y'know."

Honest, I was havin' so much fun minglin' with the younger set that way,
and gettin' my dancin' toes limbered up once more, that it's quite a
shock to glance at the livin' room clock and find it pointin' to 1:30.
As we were leavin', though, friend Dot has just persuaded Stanley to try
a one-step with her and I had to snicker when he goes whirlin' off. I
expect either she or Polly had figured out that the only way to keep him
from turnin' off the lights was to get him into the game.

From all the reports we had Polly and Dot got through their vacation
without being very lonesome. Somehow or other Honeysuckle Lodge seems to
have been established as the permanent headquarters of "the bunch," and
most any time of day or night you could hear jazz tunes comin' from
there, or see two or three cars parked outside. And, although the cotton
market was doing flip-flops about that time I don't see any signs of
nervous breakdown about Stanley. In fact, he seems to have bucked up a
lot.

"Well, how about that foreign contract?" I asks reckless one mornin' as
we meets on the train.

"Oh, I have that all sewed up," says Stanley. "One of those young chaps
who came to see Polly so much gave me a straight tip on who to
see--someone who had visited at his home. Odd way to get it, eh? But I
got a lot out of those boys. Rather miss them, you know."

"Eh?" says I, gawpin' at him.

"Been brushing up on my dancing, too," goes on Stanley. "And say, if
there's still a vacancy in that dinner dance club I think Marge and I
would like to go in."

"But I thought you said you didn't dance any more?" says I.

"I didn't think I could," says Stanley, "until Dot got me at it again
the other night. Why, do you know, she quite encouraged me. She
said----"

"Uh-huh!" says I. "I know. She said, 'Oh, I think you're a wonderful
dancer, simp-ly won-n-n-n-derful!' Didn't she