.. this
fear?
He occupied himself with such profitless reflections up to the time that
he came to the electric trains; but, from thence onward, his mind became
otherwise engaged. On his way to Piccadilly Circus that same evening, he
had chanced to find himself upon a crowded pavement walking immediately
behind Denise Ryland and Helen Cumberly. His esthetic, Greek soul had
been fired at first sight of the beauty of the latter; and now, his
heart had leaped ecstatically. His first impulse, of course, had been to
join the two ladies; but Gianapolis had trained himself to suspect all
impulses.
Therefore he had drawn near--near enough to overhear their conversation
without proclaiming himself. What he had learned by this eavesdropping
he counted of peculiar value.
Helen Cumberly was arranging to dine with her friend at the latter's
hotel that evening. "But I want to be home early," he had heard the
girl say, "so if I leave you at about ten o'clock I can walk to Palace
Mansions. No! you need not come with me; I enjoy a lonely walk through
the streets of London in the evening"...
Gianapolis registered a mental vow that Helen's walk should not be a
lonely one. He did not flatter himself upon the possession of a pleasing
exterior, but, from experience, he knew that with women he had a winning
way.
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