After that he went quietly about the usual business of his toilet. In
taking off his dress-coat he noticed the Legion of Honor which Miss
Talcott had given him at the ball. He pulled it out of his buttonhole and
tossed it into the fire-place. When he had finished dressing he saw with
surprise that it was nearly ten o'clock. Ruby Glenn was already two hours
nearer home.
Woburn stood looking about the room of which he had thought to take final
leave the night before; among the ashes beneath the grate he caught sight
of a little white heap which symbolized to his fancy the remains of his
brief correspondence with Miss Talcott. He roused himself from this
unseasonable musing and with a final glance at the familiar setting of his
past, turned to face the future which the last hours had prepared for him.
He went down stairs and stepped out of doors, hastening down the street
towards Broadway as though he were late for an appointment. Every now and
then he encountered an acquaintance, whom he greeted with a nod and smile;
he carried his head high, and shunned no man's recognition.
At length he reached the doors of a tall granite building honey-combed
with windows. He mounted the steps of the portico, and passing through the
double doors of plate-glass, crossed a vestibule floored with mosaic to
another glass door on which was emblazoned the name of the firm.
This door he also opened, entering a large room with wainscotted
subdivisions, behind which appeared the stooping shoulders of a row of
clerks.
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