after all, you did not stay here."

"Yes I did."

He eyed her suspiciously.

"I came back from supper, and brought a pitcher of cold tea,
thinking you might relish it, but you were not here. I waited nearly
an hour; then I went home."

"It was so hot, I walked about outside. What a frightful storm."

"Yes, perfectly awful. Were you exposed to the worst of it?"

"No, I was here."

He shook his head, smiled, and went into the next room, knowing that
when he returned to unlock his office she was not in the building,
and that he had seen her coming up the railway track. The bustle of
preparation soon began; the baggage wagons thundered up to the
platform, porters called to one another; passengers collected in the
waiting-room, carriages and omnibuses dashed about; then at 2:50 the
long train of north bound cars swept in. With her shawl and basket
in one hand, and the odorous bunches of chrysanthemums clasped in
the other, Beryl stepped upon the platform. She found a seat at an
open window, and made herself comfortable; placing her feet upon the
basket which contained the jewels that constituted her sole earthly
fortune. The bell rang, the train glided on, and as it passed the
office door, she saw the agent watching her, with a strangely
suspicious expression.