732 A MODERN COMEDY
Soamcs automatically consulted his watch. The hands
pointing to seven o'clock gave him extraordinarily little
help. Rather a smartly-dressed young woman, with a
slight cockney accent and powder on her nose ! That
fellow Riggs would never have done grinning. And yet
he had read in the British Gazette that everybody was doing
it. Rather gruffly he said :
" I suppose so. Where do you want to go ? "
" Oh, Leicester Square would do me all right."
Great Scott !
The young woman seemed to sense his emotion. " You
see," she said, " I got to get something to eat before my
show,"
Moreover, she was getting in ! Soames rv trly got out,
Restraining himself, he gave her °. cjidelong l:/ok ; actress or
something—young—round face, made up, naturally—nose
a little snub—eyes grey, rather goggly—mouth—h'm, pretty
mouth, slightly common ! SUnglcd—of course,
" It's awf ly kind of you i "
" Not at all! " said Soames ; and the car moved.
" Think it's going to last, the strike ? "
Soames leaned forward.
" Go on, Riggs," he said; " and put this young lady
down in—er—Coventry Street."
" It's frightf ly awk for us, all this," said the young lady
" I should never've got the* L. .ime. You seen our show,
'DatLublyLady?'"
" No."
" It's rather good."
" Oh ! "
" We shall have to close, though, if this lasts."
" Ah!"
The young lady was silent, seeming to recognise that she
was not in the presence ox a conversationalist.