"
He examined the shops with a keen eye till he came to one which seemed
more of the popular kind, and there he bought a frock of serge and
three of dark-blue linen, stouter shoes, slippers, and two hats. Here
he waited while Elsie changed, and when she came out, looking another
creature, he said with a sigh of relief, "I knew you'd look all right
if you had a chance."
They had ices at a cafe, and caught a train back to Monte Carlo. Elsie
seemed dazed with her sudden wealth, while Tinker was full of a quiet,
restful satisfaction. But it was in the evening that the great triumph
came. When she came out of her room in her evening frock, Tinker
regarded her for a moment with a satisfaction that was almost solemn,
then he turned her round and said, "We match."
"Do you really think so?" said Elsie in an awed voice, with humid eyes.
"There's no doubt about it," said Tinker, with calm, dispassionate, and
judicial impartiality.
When they came into the restaurant there was a faint murmur of
delighted surprise from the tables they passed; and one stout, but
sentimental baroness cried, "Viola des seraphin!"
And truly, if you can conceive of a seraph in an Eton suit, a low-cut
white waistcoat, and a white tie, there was something in what she said.
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