When Mallow stepped out of the door he shivered as the keen wind whistled down the street.
Few people were abroad, as they preferred, very sensibly, the comfort of a fireside to the windy, gleaming thoroughfares.

Wishing his visit to be as secret as possible, Mallow walked to Soho and turned into Golden Square shortly before the appointed hour.

He did not expect a pleasant interview, as Maraquito was an uncivilized sort of woman with little control over her very violent emotions.

Altogether, he anticipated a disagreeable quarter of an hour.
He was admitted smilingly by a woman, and noticed with some surprise that Gibber the page was not at his accustomed post.

But he put this down to the fact that there was no gambling on this particular evening.
The windows of the great salon were dark, and Senora Gredos received him in a small apartment which she used as a sitting-room.