'At one of the three occupied tables by the windows sat two women, one about thirty, the other probably no more than 18. They were talking and laughing excitedly. The elder one took a newspaper cutting from her hand and handed it to the younger, and they were quiet while she read it. At the next table sat a middle aged man reading a periodical, and next to him sat two girls who neither moved nor spoke to each other. The man who was reading took out a cigarette and lit it without taking his eyes off the paper.'