ut down in his little book
to the credit of the dress-suit account, not the value of the dinner
they got, but what they'd actually saved on each occasion. And he
began to feel that the dress suit was earning good interest in cash on
the investment.

The Skinners, now that they had engaged in active social life, learned
one valuable lesson, which was something of an eye-opener to them both.
They found that they had constantly to be on dress parade, as it were,
and that in the manners of the social devotee, no less than in his
clothes, there can be no letdown. Also, they found that, on occasions,
their dining out cost them more in the wear and tear on their patience
than a dinner at home would have cost them in cash. For instance, when
they returned from the Brewsters' dinner one night. Skinner jotted
down in his little book:--

_Dress-Suit Account_

_Debit_ _Credit_

Never again!

One bad evening!

When you go to the Brewsters,
you've got to talk all
the time about their prodigy
son who writes plays.

Anything else bores them,
and if you do talk about him,
you 're bored.

Damned if you do, damned
if you don't! It's a draw, and
a draw is a waste of time!

"Well, Perk," said McLaughlin one morning, "I've got an interesting bit
for you. The Skinners are doing the society stunt: bridge and that
sort of thing."

"That's not enough to convict."

"They're splurging. They're buying rugs and pictures!"

As a matter of fact, Honey had bought one modest rug and one modest
picture to fill up certain bare spaces over against the meeting of the
bridge club at her house, and being a good manager she could make any
purchase "show off" to the limit. But the Skinners' ice man in
detailing the thing to the McLaughlins' maid had assiduously applied
the multiplication table.

McLaughlin paused.

"Well," said Perkins, "what do you make of it?"

"He's getting too big for his breeches."

"Well?" said Perkins.

"I hate to do it," said McLaughlin, "but--"

"Well?" said Perkins.

"Don't stand there saying 'well,' Perk. Help me out."

"What are you going to do about it, Mac?"

"Did you notice him this morning? He looks as worried as the devil!"
McLaughlin drummed on his desk with the paper-cutter. "Perk, we've got
to do something--and we've got to do it sudden."

McLaughlin turned. "Come in!" he shouted.

The boy entered