Mr.Godfrey Mills, so he learned at the door had dined alone, and was in, and without further delay Mr.
Taynton was carried aloft in the gaudy bird-cage of the lift, feeling sure that his partner would see him.
The flat into which he was ushered with a smile of welcome from the man who opened the door was furnished with a sort of gross opulence that never failed to jar on Mr.Taynton's exquisite taste and cultivated mind.
Pictures, chairs, sofas, the patterns of the carpet, and the heavy gilding of the cornices were all sensuous, a sort of frangipanni to the eye.

The apparent contrast, however, between these things and their owner, was as great as that between Mr.Taynton and his partner, for Mr.
Godfrey Mills was a thin, spare, dark little man, brisk in movement, with a look in his eye that betokened a watchfulness and vigilance of the most alert order.

But useful as such a gift undoubtedly is, it was given to Mr.Godfrey Mills perhaps a shade too obviously.

It would be unlikely that the stupidest or shallowest person would give himself away when talking to him, for it was so clear that he was always on the watch for admission or information that might be useful to him.

He had, however, the charm that a very active and vivid mind always possesses, and though small and slight, he was a figure that would be noticed anywhere, so keen and wide-awake was his face.