onizingly,
nodded to her and passed on.

She made a tour of the square, and even explored the mouth of a dark
lane that led out of it. But it seemed to lead nowhere; it was a mere
burrow between high silent houses, twisting abruptly among them with
no purpose of direction, and she turned back to the lights. She was
conscious by now that she had been on her feet since early in the
afternoon, and she crossed to one of the cafes, where a tinkling band
added its allurements to the yellow lights, and sat down at a small
table. With one accord the customers at the place turned to look at
her. A barefoot waiter received her order for coffee; she found
herself a cigarette, lit it and looked about her. The cafe was a low
whitewashed room, open to the pavement at one side; it was crowded
with little tables, and at one end an orchestra of four sallow girls
smoked and fiddled and strummed. All about her were the hard, keen
men and women she had seen in the square, more men than women. They
talked to each other earnestly, in guarded voices, with eyes alert
for eavesdroppers; nearly every one had an air of secrecy and
caution. They were of all the racial types she had ever seen. Teuton,
Latin and Slav, and variants and mixtures of these, murmured and
whispered among themselves; only one of them was unmistakably
English.

Miss Gregory had noticed him as soon as she entered, and her table
was next to the one at which he sat with three others, who watched
him while he talked, and said little. He was a fair youth, with a
bland, rather vacant face, and a weak, slack mouth. Miss Gregory knew
such faces among footmen and hairdressers, creatures fitted by their
deficiencies to serve their betters. He had evidently been drinking a
good deal; the table before him was sloppy and foul, and there was
the glaze of intoxication in his eyes. But what arrested her was a
touch of exaltation in him, a manner as of triumph. For some reason
or other he seemed radiant and glad. The cause soon became apparent,
for he fixed his unsure gaze on her, smiled ingenuously and attempted
a bow.

"Pardon me," he said, leaning carefully towards her. "Pardon me, but
the sight of an English lady----"

Miss Gregory nodded. "All right," she said.

He hitched his chair closer to her; his three companions exchanged
glances, and one of them made as though to nudge him, but hesitated
and finally forbore.

"In. a general way," said the youth confidentially, "I wouldn