thing. Mr. Hume will be very seriously
injured--in to-morrow morning's papers. This expert in street accidents
must be led to believe he has succeeded. In any case, aided by a miserable
fowl, he is far enough from here at this moment. We will return in twenty
minutes."

The girl was so agitated that she hardly noticed Brett's words. But their
purport reassured her, and she left them.

The three men passed out into the drizzling rain. Owing to the Strand
being "up," a continuous stream of traffic flowed through the Avenue. Hume
pointed out the gap through which the horse was forced, and then they
darted across the roadway.

"I fell here," he said, indicating a muddy flood of road scrapings, in
which were embedded many splinters from the wreckage of the hansom.

Brett, careless of the amazement he caused to hurrying pedestrians, waded
through the bed of mud, kicking up any objects encountered by his feet.

He uttered an exclamation of triumph when he produced a stick from the
depths.

"I thought I should find it," he said. "When the horse fell it was a
hundred to one against the stick being extricated from the reins, and its
owner could not wait an instant. You and the stick, my dear Hume, lay
close together."

A small crowd was gathering. The barrister laughed.

"Gentleman," he said, "why are you so surprised? Which of you would not
dirty his boots to recover such a valuable article as this?"

Some people grinned sympathetically. They all moved away.

In an upper room of the neighbouring public-house were a suffering
"runner" and a disconsolate "cabby." The "runner" could tell them nothing
tangible concerning the man he pursued.

"I sawr 'im bring the hoss dahn like a bullick," he whispered, for the
poor fellow had received a terrible blow. "I went arter 'im, dodged rahnd
the fust corner, an', bli-me, 'e gev me a punch that would 'ave 'arted
Corbett."

"What with--his fist?" inquired Brett.

"Nah, guv'nor--'is 'eel, blawst 'im. I could 'ave dodged a square blow. I
can use my dukes a bit myself."

"What was the value of the punch?"

The youth tried to smile, though the effort tortured him. "It was worth
'arf a thick 'un at least, guv'nor."

Hume gave him two sovereigns, and the runner could not have been more
taken aback had the donor "landed him" on the sound jaw.

"And now, you," said Brett to the cabman. "What did you see?"

"Me!" with a snort of indignation. "Little over an hour ago I sawr a smaw