Still incredulous, he mentally conned the list: Barnes, who
occupied the first flat, was traveling on the Continent; Conkling,
of the third, had left a fortnight since to join a yachting party
on the Mediterranean; Bannister and Wilkes, of the fourth and
fifth floors, respectively, were in Newport and Buenos Aires.
"Odd!" concluded Maitland.
So it was. She had just closed the door, one thought; and now
stood poised as if in momentary indecision on the low stoop,
glancing toward Fifth Avenue the while she fumbled with a
refractory button at the wrist of a long white kid glove. Blurred
though it was by the darkling twilight and a thin veil, her face
yet conveyed an impression of prettiness: an impression enhanced
by careful grooming. From her hat, a small affair, something
green, with a superstructure of grey ostrich feathers, to the tips
of her russet shoes,--including a walking skirt and bolero of
shimmering grey silk,--she was distinctly "smart" and interesting.
He had keenly observant eyes, had Maitland, for all his detached
pose; you are to understand that he comprehended all these points
in the flickering of an instant. For the incident was over in two
seconds. In one the lady's hesitation was resolved; in another she
had passed down the steps and swept by Maitland without giving him
a glance, without even the trembling of an eyelash. And he had a
view of her back as she moved swiftly away toward the Avenue.
Perplexed, he lingered upon the stoop until she had turned the
corner; after which he let himself in with a latch-key, and,
dismissing the affair temporarily from his thoughts, or pretending
to do so, ascended the single flight of stairs to his flat.
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