"
She put her hands to her head and sat quite still for a moment or
two. It was really hard to take everything in.
"Aren't you very sleepy?" she asked, irrelevantly.
"Not very," he replied. I dozed for an hour, a little time ago.
Since then I have been looking through some plans which interest
me very much."
"Can I get up?" she inquired, timidly.
"If you feel strong enough, please do," he answered, with
manifest relief. "I shall move towards the door, dragging the
screen in front of me. You will find a brush and comb and some
hairpins on your clothes. I could not think of anything else to
get for you, but, if you will dress, we will walk to London
Bridge Station, which is just across the way, and while I order
some breakfast you can go into the ladies' room and do your hair
properly. I did my best to get hold of a looking-glass, but it
was quite impossible."
The girl's sense of humor was suddenly awake. She had hard work
not to scream. He had evidently thought out all these details in
painstaking fashion, one by one.
"Thank you," she said. "I will get up immediately, if you will
do as you say."
He clutched the screen from the inside and dragged it towards the
door. On the threshold, he spoke to her once more.
"I shall sit upon the stairs just outside," he announced.
"I sha'n't be more than five minutes," she assured him.
She sprang out of bed and dressed quickly. There was nothing
beyond where the screen had been except a table covered with
plans, and a particularly hard cane chair which she dragged over
for her own use.
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