thing in London ever is: Kate had one afternoon
found herself opposite Mr. Densher on the Under
ground Railway. She had entered the train at
Sloane Square to go to Queen's Road, and the car
riage in which she had found a place was all but
full. Densher was already in it on the other
bench and at the furthest angle; she was sure of
him before they had again started. The day and
the hour were darkness, there were six other per
sons, and she had been busy placing herself; but
her consciousness had gone to him as straight as
if they had come together in some bright level of
the desert. They had on neither part a second's
hesitation; they looked across the choked com
partment exactly as if she had known he would
be there and he had expected her to come in; so
that, though in the conditions they could only ex
change the greeting of movements, smiles, silence,
it would have been quite in the key of these pas
sages that they should have alighted for ease at the
very next station. Kate was in fact sure that the
very next station was the young man's true goal
which made it clear that he was going on only
from the wish to speak to her. He had to go on,
for this purpose, to High Street, Kensington, as
it was not till then that the exit of a passenger gave
him his chance.

His chance put him, however, in quick posses
sion of the seat facing her, the alertness of his capt
ure of which seemed to show her his impatience.

[[61]]

p060 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p061w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p062

v?