ancient numbers of _Blackwood's_. I slipped the robe and mask into my
suit-case and lighted my pipe. During great moments like this, a man
gathers courage and confidence from a pipeful of tobacco. I dropped
into a comfortable Morris, touched the gas-logs, and fell into a
pleasant dream. It was not necessary for me to start for the
Twenty-third Street ferry till nine; so I had something like
three-quarters of an hour to idle away. . . . What beautiful hair that
girl had! It was like sunshine, the silk of corn, the yield of the
harvest. And the marvelous abundance of it! It was true that she was
an artist's model; it was equally true that she had committed a mild
impropriety in addressing me as she had; but, for all I could see, she
was a girl of delicate breeding, doubtless one of the many whose family
fortunes, or misfortunes, force them to earn a living. And it is no
disgrace these days to pose as an artist's model. The classic oils,
nowadays, call only for exquisite creations in gowns and hats;
mythology was exhausted by the old masters. Rome, Paris, London;
possibly a bohemian existence in these cities accounted for her ease in
striking up a conversation, harmless enough, with a total stranger. In
Paris and Rome it was all very well; but it is a risky thing to do in
unromantic New York and London. However, her uncle had been with her;
a veritable fortress, had I over-stepped the bounds of politeness.

The smoke wavered and rolled about me. I took out the ten of hearts
and studied it musingly. After all, should I go? Would it be wise? I
confess I saw goblins' heads peering from the spots, and old Poe
stories returned to me! Pshaw! It was only a frolic, no serious harm
could possibly come of it. I would certainly go, now I had gone thus
far. What fool idea the girl was bent on I hadn't the least idea; but
I easily recognized the folly upon which I was about to set sail.
Heigh-ho! What was a lonely young bachelor to do? At the most, they