"
"Oh, of course," admitted Walker, easily surrendering
his position. "All signs fail in dry weather.
Hello! What's that?" He caught Corey by the arm,
and they both stopped.
At a corner, half a block ahead of them, the summer noon
solitude of the place was broken by a bit of drama.
A man and woman issued from the intersecting street,
and at the moment of coming into sight the man, who looked
like a sailor, caught the woman by the arm, as if to
detain her. A brief struggle ensued, the woman trying
to free herself, and the man half coaxing, half scolding.
The spectators could now see that he was drunk;
but before they could decide whether it was a case for
their interference or not, the woman suddenly set both
hands against the man's breast and gave him a quick push.
He lost his footing and tumbled into a heap in the gutter.
The woman faltered an instant, as if to see whether he was
seriously hurt, and then turned and ran.
When Corey and the book-keeper re-entered the office,
Miss Dewey had finished her lunch, and was putting a sheet
of paper into her type-writer. She looked up at them with
her eyes of turquoise blue, under her low white forehead,
with the hair neatly rippled over it, and then began
to beat the keys of her machine.
IX.
LAPHAM had the pride which comes of self-making, and he
would not openly lower his crest to the young fellow he
had taken into his business.
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