es, several of whom were in tears.

"Move along there, please," they chorused, dexterously splitting up
the group into smaller groups, and, finally, into ones and twos. Thus
they were herded towards Whitehall.

"Will you call some cabs, please," said she who was obviously the
leader. The inspector shook his head, whereat the woman smacked the
face of the nearest constable, obviously with the intention of being
arrested. Again the inspector shook his head. He had made up his mind
that there should be no arrests that day. Nemesis had taken a hand in
the game, and the inspector recognized in her one who is more powerful
than the Metropolitan Police Force.

Slowly amidst the jeers of the crowd the twenty women were shepherded
into Whitehall.

"Oh, please get me a taxi," appealed a little blonde woman with a hard
mouth and what looked like a dark black moustache. "I cannot go about
like this."

Suddenly one of their number was taken with shrieking hysterics. She
sat down suddenly, giving vent to shriek after shriek, and beating a
tattoo with the heels of her shoes upon the roadway; but no one took
any notice of her and soon she rose and followed the others.

In Whitehall frantic appeals were made to drivers of taxicabs and
conductorettes of omnibuses. None would accept such fares.

"It 'ud take a month to clean my bloomin' cab after you'd been in it,"
shouted one man derisively. "What jer want to get yourself in such a
dirty mess for?"

"Go 'ome and wash the baby," shouted another.

Nowhere did the Black and White Raiders find sympathy or assistance.
Two of the leaders of the Suffragette Movement, who happened to be
passing down Whitehall, were attracted by the crowd. On learning what
had happened, and seeing the plight of the demonstrators, they
continued on their way.

"This is war-time," one of them remarked to the other, "and they're
disobeying the rules of the Association." With this they were left to
their fate.

Some made for the Tube, others for the District Railway, whilst two
sought out a tea-shop and demanded washing facilities; but were
refused. The railway-stations were their one source of hope. For the
next three hours passengers travelling to Wimbledon were astonished to
see entering the train forlorn and dishevelled women, whose faces were
rendered hideous by smears of black, and whose white frocks, limp and
crumpled, looked as if they had been used to clean machinery.

"A pleasant little afte