th's Court."

Then a curious thing happened. The little crowd at the bar seemed
somehow to melt away. Half-a-dozen left precipitately by the door.
Half-a-dozen more slunk through an inner entrance into some room beyond.
Sir Timothy's neighbour set down his tumbler empty. He was the last to
leave.

"If you're going to stop 'ere, guvnor," he begged fervently, "you keep
a still tongue in your 'ead. Billy ain't particular who it is. 'E'd
kill 'is own mother, if 'e felt like it. 'E'll swing some day, sure as
I stand 'ere, but 'e'll do a bit more mischief first. 'Op it with me,
guvnor, or get inside there."

"Jim's right," the man behind the bar agreed. "He's a very nasty
customer, Bill the Tanner, sir. If he's coming down, I'd clear out for a
moment. You can go in the guvnor's sitting-room, if you like."

Sir Timothy shook his head.

"Billy the Tanner will not hurt me," he said. "As a matter of fact, I
came down to see him."

His new friend hesitated no longer but made for the door through which
most of his companions had already disappeared. The barman leaned across
the counter.

"Guvnor," he whispered hoarsely, "I don't know what the game is, but
I've given you the office. Billy won't stand no truck from any one. He's
a holy terror."

Sir Timothy nodded.

"I quite understand," he said.

There was a moment's ominous silence. The barman withdrew to the further
end of his domain and busied himself cleaning some glasses. Suddenly the
door was swung open. A man entered whose appearance alone was calculated
to inspire a certain amount of fear. He was tall, but his height escaped
notice by reason of the extraordinary breadth of his shoulders. He had
a coarse and vicious face, a crop of red hair, and an unshaven growth of
the same upon his face. He wore what appeared to be the popular dress in
the neighbourhood--a pair of trousers suspended by a belt, and a dirty
flannel shirt. His hands and even his chest, where the shirt fell away,
were discoloured by yellow stains. He looked around the room at first
with an air of disappointment. Then he caught sight of Sir Timothy
standing at the counter, and he brightened up.

"Where's all the crowd, Tom?" he asked the barman.

"Scared of you, I reckon," was the brief reply. "There was plenty here a
few minutes ago."

"Scared of me, eh?" the other repeated, staring hard at Sir Timothy.
"Did you 'ear that, guvnor?"

"I heard it," Sir Timothy acquiesced.

Billy the Tanner b