He did not come down with me. He did not come even to the door of his own room. As I closed it I saw his back. He was leaning over the table in a humped posture, his head sideways in his left hand, writing or ciphering rapidly on a sheet of yellow paper. Good for the rest of the night, I thought, as I went down the dimly lighted stairs, got my things and let myself into the vestibule.
The inner door came to behind me with a bang because the outer door was partly open and a strong draught swept through. At the same instant I became aware of a woman’s figure in the darkness of the vestibule. She was dry; therefore she could not be just coming in, for a cold rain was falling. And if she had just come out, why hadn’t I seen her in the hallway? But why was I obliged to account for her at all? It was unimportant. Probably she had been hesitating to take the plunge into the nasty night. I felt rather silly. First I had been startled and then I had hesitated, and now it was impossible to speak in a natural manner. My impulse was to bolt it in silence. Then to my surprise she moved ahead of me, stood outside, and handed me her umbrella. I raised it and held it over her; we descended the steps together.
“I’m going toward Fifth Avenue,” I said.
She turned with me in that direction, saying: “I was waiting for you.”
“You are Vera?”
“Yes.”
“The ferryboat girl,” I added.
“The what?”
“Nothing. Go on. Why were you waiting for me?”
She did not answer immediately. We walked in silence to the next light where she turned and gave me a frankly inquisitive look.