"_Joe?_" Joe Mauser raised himself to one elbow and stared at the other.
"Leaving aside the merits of your suggestion for the moment, do you
think you should address an officer by his first name?"
Max Mainz came fully into the bedroom, his grin still wider. "You
forgot! It's election day!"
"Oh." Joe Mauser relaxed into his pillow. "So it is. No duty for today,
eh?"
"No duty for anybody," Max crowed. "What'd you say we go into town and
have a few drinks in one of the Upper bars?"
Joe grunted, but began to arise. "What'll that accomplish? On election
day, most of the Uppers get done up in their oldest clothes and go
slumming down in the Lower quarters."
Max wasn't to be put off so easily. "Well, wherever we go, let's get
going. Zen! I'll bet this town is full of fracas buffs from as far as
Philly. And on election day, to boot. Wouldn't it be something if I
found me a real fracas fan, some Upper-Upper dame?"
Joe laughed at him, even as he headed for the bathroom. As a matter of
fact, he rather liked the idea of going into town for the show. "Max,"
he said over his shoulder, "you're in for a big disappointment. They're
all the same. Upper, Lower, or Middle."
"Yeah?" Max grinned back at him. "Well, I'd like the pleasure of finding
out if that's true by personal experience."