What would she say the moment she--the moment she what?--the moment
she "emerged from the perilous stream of vehicles which crowd West
Street from morning until night," or the moment "she stepped out of
the cab as it drew up at the foot of the gangway"? That was the
point. How would she arrive--on foot or in a cab? Which way would
she come, and at what time must she start from home? Should she come
alone, or should Mrs. Corwin and the twins come with her?--or would a
woman of her stamp not be likely to have an intimate friend to
accompany her to the steamer? Stuart was a rapid thinker, and as he
pondered over these problems it did not take him long to reach the
conclusion that a cab was necessary for Miss Andrews; and that Mrs.
Corwin and the twins, with Osborne and Balderstone, might get aboard
in their own way. He also decided that it would be an excellent plan
to have Marguerite's old school friend Mrs. Willard accompany her to
the steamer. By an equally rapid bit of thought he concluded that if
the cab started from the Andrews apartment at Fifty-ninth Street and
Central Park at 9.30 A.M., the trip to the pier could easily be made
in an hour, which would be in ample time, since the sailing hour of
the New York was eleven. Unfortunately Harley, in his hurry, forgot
two or three incidents of departures generally, especially departures
of women, which he should not have overlooked. It was careless of
him to forget that a woman about to travel abroad wants to make
herself as stunning as she possibly can on the day of departure, so
that the impression she will make at the start shall be strong enough
to carry her through the dowdy stage which comes, as Marguerite had
intimated, on the second and third days at sea; and to expect a woman
like Marguerite Andrews, who really had no responsibilities to call
her up at an early hour, to be ready at 9.30 sharp, was a fatal
error, unless he provided his cab with an unusually fast horse, or a
pair of horses, both of which Harley neglected to do. Miss Andrews