Епоха невинності

           "SoyouDIDgethere,afterall?"heexclaimed,castingawonderingeyeontheastuteandhaggardlittlecountenanceofyoungCarfry’sFrenchtutor."Oh,Igothere—yes,"M.Rivieresmiledwithdrawnlips."Butnotforlong;Ireturnthedayaftertomorrow."Hestoodgraspinghislightvaliseinoneneatlyglovedhand,andgazinganxiously,perplexedly,almostappealingly,intoArcher’sface."Iwonder,Monsieur,sinceI’vehadthegoodlucktorunacrossyou,ifImight—""Iwasjustgoingtosuggestit:cometoluncheon,won’tyou?Downtown,Imean:ifyou’lllookmeupinmyofficeI’lltakeyoutoaverydecentrestaurantinthatquarter."M.Rivierewasvisiblytouchedandsurprised."You’retookind.ButIwasonlygoingtoaskifyouwouldtellmehowtoreachsomesortofconveyance.Therearenoporters,andnoonehereseemstolisten—""Iknow:ourAmericanstationsmustsurpriseyou.Whenyouaskforaportertheygiveyouchewing-gum.Butifyou’llcomealongI’llextricateyou;andyoumustreallylunchwithme,youknow."Theyoungman,afterajustperceptiblehesitation,replied,withprofusethanks,andinatonethatdidnotcarrycompleteconviction,thathewasalreadyengaged;butwhentheyhadreachedthecomparativereassuranceofthestreetheaskedifhemightcallthatafternoon.Archer,ateaseinthemidsummerleisureoftheoffice,fixedanhourandscribbledhisaddress,whichtheFrenchmanpocketedwithreiteratedthanksandawideflourishofhishat.Ahorse-carreceivedhim,andArcherwalkedaway.PunctuallyatthehourM.