The rain was |pouring down and the gutters of Shaftesbury Avenue were awash.
A few theatre-goers still stood disconsolately beneath the dark porticoes of the theatres, waiting for their motor cars or hoping for a taxi.
The porters had closed the doors inhospitably behind them, anxious to get away to their homes and their suppers.
From a stage door that opened onto a side street a girl came slowly out, calling a cheery ‘goodnight’ to the doorkeeper as she passed.
“Oh, it’s been raining!” she expostulated.
“It’s been doin’ that for the best part of two hours, miss, and it doesn’t look as if it’s likely to stop.”
She opened her umbrella and hurried out into the rain.
She crossed the street to wait for a bus. There was a small crowd of people also waiting, all huddled under umbrellas, s
