He stood up, rested first on one foot, then on the other, and
awkwardly shifted his new hat from one hand to the other, then
suddenly put the hat under his arm, recollecting that the label was
not such as servants wore inside their hats.

There was something disquieting in those magnetic sapphire eyes
looking so serenely into his.




IX

THE HEROINE HIRES A GROOM


Remarkable as it may read, his first impression was of her gown--a
gown such as women wear on those afternoons when they are free of
social obligations, a gown to walk in or to lounge in. The skirt,
which barely reached to the top of her low shoes, was of some blue
stuff (stuff, because to a man's mind the word covers feminine dress-
goods generally, liberally, and handily), overshot with gray. Above
this she had put on a white golfing-sweater, a garment which at that
time was just beginning to find vogue among women who loved the
fields and the road. Only men who own to stylish sisters appreciate
these things, and Warburton possessed rather observant eyes. She held
a bunch of freshly plucked poppies in her hand. It was the second
time that their glances had met and held. In the previous episode (on
the day she had leaned out of the cab) hers had been first to fall.
Now it was his turn. He studied the tips of his shoes. There were