old
woman’s
handwriting
on it,
might
somehow
have
slipped
out and
been lost
in some
crack, and
then might
suddenly
turn up as
unexpected,
conclusive
evidence
against
him. He
stood as
though
lost in
thought,
and a
strange,
humiliated,
half
senseless
smile
strayed on
his lips.
He took
his cap at
last and
went
quietly
out of the
room. His
ideas were
all
tangled.
He went
dreamily
through
the
gateway.
“Here he
is
himself,”
