Roun' an' roun'. There--like that!"
His freckled paw shot up over Purvis's shoulder, mauve lightning
came from his ring, a red flash from his revolver, and shrieks
from the women as the reverberations died away. Some splinters
lodged in my hair.
Next instant the prize-fighter disarmed him; and I was safe from
the devil, but finally doomed to the deep sea. A policeman was
in our midst. He had entered through the drawing-room window; he
was an officer of few words and creditable promptitude. In a
twinkling he had the handcuffs on my wrists, while the pugilist
explained the situation, and his patron reviled the force and its
representative with impotent malignity. A fine watch they kept;
a lot of good they did; coming in when all was over and the whole
household might have been murdered in their sleep. The officer
only deigned to notice him as he marched me off.
"We know all about YOU, sir," said he contemptuously, and he
refused the sovereign Purvis proffered. "You will be seeing me
again, sir, at Marylebone."
"Shall I come now?"
"As you please, sir. I rather think the other gentleman requires
you more, and I don't fancy this young man means to give much
trouble."
"Oh, I'm coming quietly," I said.
And I went.
In silence we traversed perhaps a hundred yards. It must have
been midnight.
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