He laid on the table money for the coffee and cigarettes, with a
satisfactory tip. Then without looking at their neighbours he and
Annesley passed, walking shoulder to shoulder with a leisurely step
toward the entrance.

"I suppose there's no chance of shaking them off?" the girl whispered.

"None whatever," said Smith. "But we've had the fun of cheating them out
of their coffee, because they won't chance our stopping to pick up our
wraps. They'll be on our heels till the end of the journey, so there's
nothing for it except to stick to the original plan of my going home with
you. I hope you don't mind? I hope you're not afraid of me now?"

"I'm not at all afraid," said Annesley.

"Thank you for that. If our taxi outruns theirs, I sha'n't need to
trespass on your kindness beyond the doorstep. But if they overtake us,
and are on the spot before you can vanish into the house and I can
disappear in some other direction, are you still game to keep your
promise--the promise to let me go indoors with you?"

"Yes, I am 'game' to the end--whatever the end may be," the girl
answered; and she wondered at herself, because her heart was as brave as
her words.

Five minutes later Annesley, wrapped in her thin cloak, was stepping into
a taxi. As Smith followed and told the chauffeur where to drive, the two
watchers shot through the revolving door in time to overhear, and also to
order a taxi.