She finally ordered a rosé, paid for it, and settled back, taking turns watching the immediate reflections of the two at the bar in the window next to her face and the darkness of the passing countryside beyond their reflections. The train lumbered on and it made the only noise, save for an occasional giggle and a deep-throated chuckle from the bar. Finally the woman got up from the stool and said, “See you later on” to the bartender. She said it with a contrived, unnatural seductivity and took her time moving out of the car. The Dearborn lady, still seated at the table and facing the window, saw it all through her tinted glasses.

The bartender began to whistle as he washed the glasses. He was a robust fellow but he moved very gracefully behind the bar, like a dancer. Still, he splashed a great deal of water on the floor. He glanced over at the lady once or twice as she, in turn, looked alternately at the darkness beyond the thick window glass and at him. But only her eyes moved. Then the man moved out from behind the bar and came toward her. She stiffened and gathered her purse and got up, all very quickly. He was wiping the tables and whistling as she hurried out of the car.

II

IN THE PULLMAN CAR, the porter was still making the beds. He shuffled from one roomette to the next, not wasting a single step. The occupants came out of their rooms and stood in the hall while he swished and tucked their sheets. Then he knocked on the Dearborn lady’s door. “Porter!” he barked, the way a street-corner concessionaire would say “Hot Dogs!” There was no answer, so he went in and began turning down the bed. She came up behind him and watched his back as he moved about the small compartment. She was breathing very hard.

“What time do you lock the doors to the car?” she asked.

“The doors ain’t never locked,” he said, not turning to face her.

“How do you keep people out?” She paused, and then said: “My luggage is in the hall. It’s very expensive.”

“I’ll watch out for it. I sit up all night.”

“Inside the car?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“But I . . . we have to sleep. We have to sleep in here,” she said. She was very excited now.