returned from the office two later he found this note awaiting him dear mouse � friend has asked me to join her in have beat it sorry not see you say good by come sm me sometime � before and see if i m in � spring address xx south washington in haste he spent the evening in not going to the times he broke away from a game to rush upstairs and see if the note was as chilly as he it always was then for a week he awaited a more definite from her which did not come he was uneasily to these days and of her gentleness he wanted to brood but be did not his old habit of long solitary walks every afternoon ht planned one for the evening every evening found he wanted to be around with folks he had a sort of youthful defiant despair so he much at the card table by way of his new of keeping people from knowing what he was he took pleasure in noting that mrs no longer condescended to him he managed to tom s writing on a card which he left with a bunch of in s room and nearly persuaded tom himself that tom was the probably w a wandering flame he didn t much care what happened he was able to force mr r to raise his salary to dollars a week mr his way to admit that the letters to the southern trade had been a first rate son john the head of the company s department invited mr home to dinner and the account of the cattle boat was much admired by mrs and the three young a few days later in mid june there was an unusually cheerful dinner at the house turned to mr � yes he was quite sure about it she was speaking exclusively to him with a and most merry account of the manner in which the floor had called down the of the he longed to give his whole self in his answer to be in the absolute community of thought that lovers know but the image of was behind his chair � he had to see her � now this evening he rushed out to the corner store and reached her by yes s admitted a httle she was going to be at the that evening though ell there was going to be a little party � some friends � but � yes she d be glad to have him come grimly mr set out for washington square since this scientific has so examined mr s toward the one need give but three of his impressions of the and people he found on washington square � namely a that the big room was bare ill kept and not to the red splendor of mrs s for all its to superiority why a lot of the pictures weren t framed i and you should have seen the and fruit of the frames at mrs s b that the people were brothers in talk to the inmates of the flat on great james street london only far less friendly and � � our mr c that mr was now a man of friends and tke blooming as he called them didn t him they were permitted to go to the was always across the room from him somehow he found himself glad it made their parting he was going back to his own people he was as he rose with elaborate boarding house to the room at large for going and a cheerful but not intimate good night to she followed him to tht door and into the dark long without good night mouse dear i m glad you got a chance to talk to the silver girl but was mr rude to i heard him talking single tax � or was it � and he s usually rude when he talks about them no he was all right then what is worrying you oh � nothing good ni you are going angry l you no but � oh there ain t any use of our � of me is there � the you just spoke about � and them artists here to night in dress suits � i wouldn l know when to wear one of them things and when swallow tail � if i had one even � or when or oh not a prince mouse dear say coat sure that s what i mean it s like that i don t know about none of the things you re in while you ve been away from mrs s� lord i ve missed you but when i try to train your bunch or when you spring he peculiarly to resent the unfortunate french artist o me i sort of get myself � and now it ain t like it w s in england i ve got a bunch of my own i can around with anyway got myself lo hen � i m a wandering flame s pose it s because i been thinking you didn t care much for my friends but mouse dear all this isn t news to me surely you who ve with me aren t going to be so obvious so as to blame me because you ve cared for me are you child oh no no no i didn t mean to do that i just wanted � oh i � well i wanted to have things between us definite do understand you re quite right and now we re just friends aren t yes then good by and sometime when i m back in new york � i m going to in a few days � i think i ll be able to get back here � i certainly hope si though of course i ll have to keep house for friend father for a while and maybe 