deliberately, and through it all her
formidable gaze held the Portugee at arm's length, till his gabbled
insults died out and left him armed only with scowls. Miss Gregory
waited, but he had no more to say.

"I will call on you to-morrow, my man," she said significantly, and
walked at a leisurely rate through the door to the grave street
without, where the quick evening was already giving place to night.

The sky overhead was deep blue and clear, powdered with a multitude
of stars, and over the sea to the east a crescent of moon floated
low. The night was fresh, but not cold. Miss Gregory, pacing
tranquilly along the cobbled street, found it agreeable after the
sterile heat of the afternoon. A faint breeze stirred the acacias
which were planted along the middle of the way, and they murmured
secretly. The prospect of a night without shelter did not greatly
disturb her; she was already conscious that when she came to look
back on it, it would take a high rank among her experiences.

A turning brought her to the Praca, the little square of the town,
its heart and centre. Here there were lights, the signal that the
place had waked up for the evening. Two or three low-browed cafes
abutted on the pavement, each lively with folk who drank and talked;
the open doors of a church showed an interior faintly luminous with
candles; and men and a few women stood about in groups or moved here
and there at their ease. With her deliberate step, Miss Gregory
passed among them, looking about her with the ready interest of the
old traveler who sees without criticizing. There was a flavor in the
place and its people that struck her like something pungent; they had
individuality; they belonged to each other. There was a sinister
character in the faces and bearing of the men, a formidable
directness in the women; not one but had the air of carrying a hidden
weapon. It was the commonplace evening population of an East African
town which has never lived down the traditions of its pirate-
founders, and Miss Gregory marked its fine picturesqueness with
appreciation. Every one turned to look at her as she passed; she,
clean, sane, assured, with her little air of good-breeding, was no
less novel to them than they to her. A thin dark woman, with arms and
breasts bare, took a quick step forward to look into her face; Miss
Gregory paused in her walk to return the scrutiny. The woman's wide
lips curled in a sudden laughter; Miss Gregory smiled patr