Di--Liza!"

He took Dilly by the arm, and, preceded by Gerald, began to press
through the crowd, which by this time extended almost right across the
street.

But the now thoroughly aroused guardian of the peace, determined not to
be rushed like this, broke away from Robin, who was engaging him in
pleasant conversation, and, hastening after the retreating group, laid a
detaining and imperious hand on Dilly's arm.

What happened next I was not quick enough to see. But there was a swirl
and a heave in the crowd, and presently Dicky became visible, standing
in a very heroic attitude with his arm round Dilly; while the policeman,
with an awe-inspiring deliberateness which implied "Now you _have_ gone
and done it!" extricated himself majestically but painfully from the
chasm in the road which had recently been occupying Dicky's attention,
and into which Dicky in defence of his beloved had apparently pushed
him.

Picking up his pocket-book and putting it back into his chest, and
uttering the single and awful word "_Assault!_" the policeman produced a
whistle and blew it.

Things were certainly getting serious, and I had just decided to send
out the hotel porter to the policeman to tell him to bring his captives
inside out of the way of the crowd, when I noticed that Robin was
ploughing his way towards the outskirts of the throng, waving his arm as
he went. Then I saw that his objective was another policeman--an
Inspector this time. He was a gigantic creature, and Robin and he,
slowly forging towards each other through the surrounding sea of faces,
looked like two liners in a tideway.

Robin's conduct in deliberately attracting the notice of yet another
representative of law and order appeared eccentric on the face of it,
but his subsequent behaviour was more peculiar still.

He seized the newly-arrived giant by the arm, and drew him apart from
the crowd, where he told him something which appeared to amuse them both
considerably.

"Yewmorous dialogue," announced Coaldust to his neighbours, "between
Cleopartrer's Needle and the Moniment!"

But it was more than that,--it was deep calling to deep. Presently the
explanation, or the joke, or whatever it was, came to an end, and the
Inspector advanced threateningly upon the crowd.

"Pass along, there, pass along!" he cried with a devastating sweep of
his arm. He spoke with a Highland accent, and I realised yet once more
the ubiquity of that great Mutual Benefit Society w