"As he staggered off, I bounded up the stairs, with the two keys he had pulled from his bunch.
"The widow met me at my door.
"'Has a lady called here?' I asked, hastily.
"'Somebody peeped in,' she said. 'It may have been a lady, but I thought it was Mr. Bunker, and as soon as I could—I was dressing my eye—I followed out; but he was gone.'
"'Oh, Lord!' I groaned. 'If it was she, she's gone out to my place, and she will tell my wife.'
"Then I remembered that Mrs. Milner did not have my country address, and was comforted.
"But I had been extremely agitated, and now my shattered nervous system went back on me so completely that I practically turned that interesting female out.
"'The lady may come back at any moment,' I said. 'Here are the keys—this one for the outer door, this one for the studio. Don't let her find you with me in this place.'
"I gave the widow the keys, and she left, saying that she would make a call on someone who had promised her employment, and that she would not annoy me further. She was extremely grateful for my kindness, and all that.
"I hurried her out; and, after a while, settled down to my desk, and worked through the evening—worked hard, to keep from worrying over the whereabouts of Mrs. Milner, alone in that great city.