Peak, meeting an amused glance from the journalist, left his seat and took up a volume that lay on one of the tables. It was easy to see that his hands shook, and that there was perspiration on his forehead. With pleasant tact, Moxey struck into a new subject, and for the next quarter of an hour Peak sat apart in the same attitude as before his outburst of satire and invective. Then he advanced to Miss Moxey again, for the purpose of taking leave. This was the signal for Earwaker’s rising, and in a few minutes both men had left the house.
‘I’ll go by train with you,’ said Earwaker, as they walked away. ‘Farringdon Street will suit me well enough.’
Peak vouchsafed no reply, but, when they had proceeded a little distance, he exclaimed harshly:
‘I hate emancipated women!’
His companion st
