"Leave go!" they cried. "For God's sake, leave go! You're killing the
man. He'll be dead in a second longer."

Hazon relaxed his grasp, and stood upright. Beyond a slight heaving of
the chest attendant upon his exertion, he seemed as cool and collected
as though nothing had happened.

"I believe you're right," he said, turning away. "Well, he isn't that
yet."

The attention of the onlookers was concentrated on the prostrate bully,
to restore whom a doctor was promptly sent for from the most likely bar,
for it was midday. But all were constrained to allow that the fellow had
only got what he deserved, which consensus of opinion may or may not
have been due to the fact that he was, if anything, a trifle more
unpopular than Hazon himself.

Now among those who had witnessed this scene from first to last was
Laurence Stanninghame. Not among those who would have interfered--oh,
no--for did he not hold it a primary tenet never, on any pretext, to
interfere in what did not concern him? nor did this principle in those
days involve any effort to keep, all impulse to violate it being long
since dead. Moreover, if the last held good of the badly damaged bully,
society at large could not but be the gainer, since it was clear that he
was a fit representative of a class which is utterly destitute of any
redeeming point which should go to justify its unspeakably vicious,
useless, and rather dangerous existence.

This incident, while enhancing the respect in which Hazon was held, in
no sense tended to lessen his unpopularity, and indeed at that time
nobody had a good word to say for him. Either they said nothing, and
looked the more, or they said a word that was not good--oh, no, not
good.

Now in spite of all such ill repute, possibly by reason of it, his
temperament being what it was, Laurence felt drawn towards this
mysterious personage, for he was pre-eminently one given to forming his
own judgment instead of accepting it ready made from Dick, Tom, and
Harry. If Hazon was vindictive, why, so was he; if unscrupulous, so
could he be if driven to it. He resolved to find an opportunity of
cultivating the man, and if he could not find one he would make it. Now
he saw such an opportunity.

"What do you think of this rumor that the revolution in Brazil is going
to knock out our share market?" he said, suddenly looking up from the
paper he was reading.

"It may do that," answered Hazon. "This year's boom has been a mere sick