the carriage empty. Also, it
was in the thick of the traffic at Ludgate Circus, and Kibblewhite
was so afraid the fellow might mix himself up in it and give him
the slip that he took a chance shot to prevent it. Nipping up the
officer on point, he made himself and his business known, and, in
a winking, in nips the constable, hauls Mr. Serpice up sharp, and
arrests him for driving a public vehicle without a license."

"Well played, Kibblewhite!" approved Cleek. "That, of course, meant
that the fellow would be arrested and have to give his address and
all the rest of it?"

"So Kibblewhite himself thought; but what does the beggar do but
turn the tables on him in the most unexpected manner by absolutely
refusing to do anything of the kind, and, as he did _not_ have a
license, and would not call anybody to pay his fine, the magistrate
finished the business by committing him to _jail_ for ten days in
default. And here's the thing I was ass enough to forget: His ten
days' imprisonment was up this morning; Kibblewhite, in disguise,
was to be outside the jail to follow him when he was discharged and
see where he went, and he told me to look for him to turn up at the
Yard before six this evening with a full report of the result of
his operations."

"Bravo!" said Cleek, leaning back in his seat, with a sigh of
satisfaction. "I've changed my mind about leaving you, Mr. Narkom;
we will go on to the Yard together. As, in all probability, after
ten days without being able to communicate with his pals or with
Waldemar, our friend Serpice will be hot to get to them at once
and explain the cause of his long absence, the chances are that
Kibblewhite will have something of importance to report at last."

He had, as they found out when, in the fulness of time, they arrived
at the Yard and were told that he was waiting for them in the
superintendent's office, and in his excitement he almost threw it
at them, so eager he was to report.

"I've turned the trick at last, Superintendent," he cried. "The
silly josser played straight into my hands, sir. The minute he was
out of jail he made a beeline for Soho, and me after him, and there
he 'takes to earth' in a rotten little restaurant in the worst part
of the district; and when I nips over and has a look inside, there
he was shakin' hands with a lot of Frenchies of his own kind, and
them all prancin' about and laughin' like they'd gone off their
bloomin' heads. I sees there aren't no bac