Thus musing, he walked on, taking, without noting it, the most
frequented turnings, and soon he found himself in the Strand. It was
that middle time of evening, after the theatres and restaurants have
sucked in their crowds, when the frequenters of the streets have some
reserve in their vivacity, before reckless roisterers have begun to
taste the lees of pleasure, and to shout and jostle on the pavements. He
was walking on the side of the way next the river, when, near the
Adelphi, he became aware of a man before him, wearing a slouch-hat and a
greatcoat--a man who appeared to choose the densest part of the throng,
to prefer to be rubbed against and hustled rather than not. There was
something about the man which held Lefevre's attention and roused his
curiosity--something in the swing of his gait and the set of his
shoulders. The man, too, seemed urged on by a singular haste, which
permitted him to be the slowest and easiest of passengers in the thick
of the crowd, but carried him swiftly over the less frequented parts of
the pavement. The doctor began to wonder if he was a pickpocket, and to
look about for the watchful eye of a policeman.
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