They knew that.

Among themselves they were like priests breathing incense.

Whenever one of them spoke to another they saluted, their heels clicked, their bodies bent at the belt line.
One of them came to where, in the middle of the road, I was stranded and trying not to feel as lonely as I looked.

He was much younger than myself and dark and handsome.

His face was smooth-shaven, his figure tall, lithe, and alert.