ight--of course--have been any
one of any number of accidental and perfectly natural causes. And it
might have been a man upon whom another man had hurled himself, when
the second man landed on his jaw. And thrashing noises a little later
might have been anything.

But after what seemed a long time, Bell emerged. Alone. He was
breathing quickly, and there were scratches on his face and hands
which--well, which might have been made by thorns. He went swiftly
back toward the spot where Paula had waited. He looked cautiously. She
was gone.

And then Bell went leisurely, in the studious fashion of a person
going through the Botanical Gardens because it was the thing to do,
toward the gateway and the surface cars. As he neared the gate his
eyes roved with apparent casualness all about. He saw a tiny speck of
white on the edge of the roadway. It looked as if it had been flung
from a car. Bell picked it up. It was Paula's handkerchief, and there
was no knot whatever in it. In fact, its lacy edge was torn.

"They've got her," said Bell, apparently unmoved.

* * * * *

He waited for a car. A bulky figure wearing thick spectacles came
placidly from the Gardens. It waited, also, for the car. The car
arrived, in its two sections of first and second class; the first
reserved for _cavalhieros_, which is to say persons wearing coat,
shirt, collar, necktie, hat, shoes and socks, and carrying no parcel
larger than a brief case. Lesser folk who lacked any of the sartorial
requirements for admission to the first class section, or wore
_tomancos_ instead of shoes, heaped themselves into the second section
and paid one-third of the fare in the first.

Ball took his seat in the first section. It was comfortably filled.
The bulky person with the thick spectacles wedged himself carefully
into the space beside Bell. He unfolded a copy of the _Jornal do
Commercio_ and began to regard the advertisements. Presently he found
what he was looking for. "_O Bicho_," said medium-sized type. Beside
it was a picture of a kangaroo. The gentleman with the thick
spectacles resignedly fished into his pockets and found a lottery
ticket. He tore it into scraps and threw them away. Then he began to
gaze disinterestedly at the scenery and the other passengers in the
car.

* * * * *

Bell drummed on his knee. With one's forefinger representing a dot,
and one's second finger serving as a dash,