Outside Micky hailed a taxicab.

“You’re much too tired to walk,” he said when she protested. “And it will be a new experience for Charlie,” he added with a twinkle.

He put her into the cab, and stood for a moment at the door.

“And the address?” he asked.

She hesitated, looking away from him; then suddenly she told him.

“It’s Brixton Road––it’s––it’s a very horrid boarding-house,” she added with a half-sigh.

14

“Boarding-houses are all horrid,” said Micky cheerily. “But I’ll come down myself to-morrow and see how bad it really is.”

He tried to see her face.

“Shall you be in if I come in the afternoon?” he asked anxiously.