e quite like it?" Said others: "The
town is certainly moving ahead; we don't know but that we do."

Yes, a good many social observers set forth to see for themselves the
new phenomena and to appraise the value of them in the coming political
and social life of the community. Of course, many of these observers
were too young and heedless to draw inferences from the sudden flood of
new bars and bright lights and crass tunes and youthful creatures in
short skirts who seemed not quite to know whether their proper element
was the stage above or the range of tables below; in fact, these
observers waived all attempt at speculative thought and became
participants.

Raymond and I had heard comments on the new developments from our
elders; we were not without our own curiosity (though we had enough
fastidiousness not to graze things very close, still less to wade into
them very deep), and we decided one evening that we would look into two
or three of these new and notable places of public entertainment.

The first of them offered little. The second of them developed Johnny
McComas. He sat at a table, talking too familiarly, or at least too
forbearingly, with a rubicund, hard-faced man in shirt-sleeves standing
at his elbow--probably the head of the place, or his first aide; and he
was buying obviously unnecessary glasses of things for two of the young
creatures in short skirts--Gertrudes and Adeles of that particular
stratum, or Katies and Maggies, if preferred. Johnny sat there happy
enough: an early example of the young business warrior diverting himself
after the fray. Years afterward the scene came back to me when I met
with a showy painting in the resonant new lobby of one of the greater
hotels. It showed a terrace overlooking some placid Greek sea; the happy
warrior standing ungirt and uncasqued, with a beautiful maiden of
indeterminate status seated beside him; a graceful attendant holding a
wreath above each happy and prosperous head, and a group of sandaled
dancing-girls lightly footing it for the pleasure of the fortunate pair;
the whole scene illuminated by the supreme, smiling self-satisfaction of
the relaxed soldier amid the pipings of peace. So Johnny; he had earned
the money and won the right to spend it in pleasure; his, too, the duty
of refreshing himself for the strenuous morrow.

He saw us and nodded. "Life!"--that was what he seemed to say. He made a
feint to interest us in his companions; but they were poo