people of both sexes. Young men sauntered to and from the cafe at the
corner, or stood gesticulating in animated groups. All alike were
conspicuous for a rather wilful slovenliness, for smooth faces and
bushy hair, while the numerous girls, with whom they paused to laugh
and trifle, were, for the most part, showy in dress and loudly
vivacious in manner. On the kerbstone, a knot of the latter, tittering
among themselves, shot furtive glances at Dove and Maurice as
they passed. Here, a pretty, laughing face was the centre of a little
circle; there, a bevy of girls clustered about a young man, who, his
hands in his pockets, leaned carelessly against the door-arch; and
again, another, plump and much befeathered, with a string of large
pearlbeads round her fat, white neck, had isolated herself from the
rest, to take up, on the steps, a more favourable stand. A master who
went by, a small, jovial man in a big hat, had a word for all the
girls, even a chuck of the chin for one unusually saucy face. Inside,
classes were filing out of the various rooms, other classes were going
in; there was a noisy flocking up and down the broad, central
staircase, i crowding about the notice-board, a going and coming in
the long, stone corridors. The concert-hall was being lighted.

Maurice slowly made his way through the midst of all these people,
while Dove loitered, or stepped out of hearing, with one friend after
another. In a side corridor, off which, cell like, opened a line of
rooms, they pushed a pair of doubledoors, and went in to take their
lesson.

The room they entered was light and high, and contained, besides a
couple of grand pianos, a small table and a row of wooden chairs.
Schwarz stood with his back to the window, biting his nails. He was a
short, thickset man, with keen eyes, and a hard, prominent mouth,