In a flutter she jumped up and went to another part of the room.
A moment or two later she was whistling softly as she hung her light coat over a wooden triangle in her closet, and her musing now was quainter than the experience that led to it; for what she thought was this, "I certainly am a queer girl!" She took a little pride in so much originality, believing herself probably the only person in the world to have such thoughts as had been hers since she entered the room, and the first to be disturbed by a strange presence in the mirror.

In fact, the effect of the tiny episode became apparent in that look of preoccupied complacency to be seen for a time upon any girl who has found reason to suspect that she is a being without counterpart.
This slight glow, still faintly radiant, was observed across the dinner-table by Walter, but he misinterpreted it.

"What YOU lookin' so self-satisfied about ?" he inquired, and added in his knowing way, "I saw you, all right, cutie!" "Where'd you see me ?" "Down-town." "This afternoon, you mean, Walter ?" "Yes, 'this afternoon, I mean, Walter,'" he returned, burlesquing her voice at least happily enough to please himself; for he laughed applausively.

"Oh, you never saw me! I passed you close enough to pull a tooth, but you were awful busy.

I never did see anybody as busy as you get, Alice, when you're towin' a barge.