Thenshethoroughlybrushedherhairanddiditupinagracefulpompadourthatwouldgowellwiththehat。Shewashedawaythetracesofheroutburstofgrief，wentoverherfingernails，nowalmostrecoveredfromthedisastersincidenttothelifeofmanuallabor。Shewentontocompletehertoilet，allwiththesameattentiontodetail——asureindication，inonesoyoung，ofadesiretopleasesomespecificperson。Whenshehadthehatsetatthesatisfactoryangleandtheveilwounduponitanddrapedoverherfreshyoungfacecoquettishly，shetookfromherslenderstoreofglovesafreshgraypairand，assheputthemon，stoodbeforetheglassexaminingherself。
Therewasnownotatraceofthetenementworkinggirlofaweekandadaybefore。Herewasbeautyinbloom，freshandalluringfromheadtonarrow，well-bootedfeet。Morethanahintofafinecolorsense——thatvitalquality，iffashion，theconventional，istoberefinedandindividualizedintostyle，therare——morethanahintofcolorsenseshowedintheharmonyofthepearlgrayinthebigfeather，thepearlgrayinthecollaroftheblouse，andthepearlwhiteofherskin。Susanhadindeedreturnedtoherownclass。Shehadleftit，asmall-towngirlwithmorethanasuggestionofthechildineyesandmouth；
shehadreturnedtoit，ayoungwomanofthecity，withthatlookinherfacewhichonlyexperiencecangive——experiencethathasresultedingrowth。Shelockedallherpossessionsawayinhertrunk——allbuthermoney；thatsheputinherstockings——seventy-fivedollarswelldownintherightleg，therestofthebillswelldownintheleftleg；thetwodollarsorsoinchangewasallsheintrustedtothepocketbookshecarried。Shecastacoquettishglancedownathercharminglyarrayedfeet——aharmlessglanceofcoquetrythatwillbecondemnedbythosewhosephysicalvanityhappenstocenterelsewhere。Afterthisglanceshedroppedherskirts——andwasready。
Bythistimeduskhadfallen，anditwasnearlysixo”clock。Asshecameoutofthehousesheglancedtowardthewest——theinstinctivegestureofpeoplewholiveinrainyclimates。Herfacebrightened；shesawanomeninthelongbroadstreakofreddenedeveningsky。
CHAPTERXXIII