As arranged, I
bumped into him, grabbed his hat and jumped on it."
He paused, raising his hand to his head reminiscently.
"My man was a bit of a scrapper," he continued, "and he played
hell. I've never heard such language in my life, and the way he
laid about me with his cane is something I am not likely to
forget in a hurry. A crowd gathered, naturally, and (also
naturally) I was 'pinched.' That didn't matter much. I got off
lightly; and although I've been dismissed by Peters and Peters,
twenty crisp fivers are locked in my trunk there, with the ten
which I received in the City."
Harley checked him, and:
"May I see the envelope in which they arrived?" he asked.
"Sorry," replied Bampton, "but I burned it. I thought it was
playing the game to do so. It wouldn't have helped you much,
though," he added; "It was an ordinary common envelope, posted in
the City, address typewritten, and not a line enclosed."
"Registered?"
"No."
Bampton stood looking at us with a curious expression on his
face, and suddenly:
"There's one point," he said, "on which my conscience isn't easy.
You know about that poor devil who fell out of a window? Well,
it would never have happened if I hadn't kicked up a row in the
street.
Pages:
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236