newly-completed touch-line, and taking the spotted bundle and the
tea-can from her hands, conducted her ceremoniously within the magic
circle, saying, in a voice much more like his own than before--

"Come away, lassie!"

Dicky looked up from his labours at this, and beheld his _fiancee_ for
the first time. All he said was--

"By gad, you've done it after all! Bravo!"

But Dilly did not appear to be at all gratified She merely sat on
Gerald's little mountain of paving-blocks, looking as if she could not
decide whether to throw her apron over her face and scream, or take a
header into the wigwam. My heart bled for her in spite of her folly. The
crowd, deeply interested and breathing hard, stood round waiting for the
performance to begin.

It was Coaldust who took the lead.

"Tip us a song and dance, Clara," he said encouragingly.

Robin, who had been making a show of unfastening the bundle, suddenly
rose to his feet. Coaldust saw him.

"All right, Carnegie," he remarked hurriedly. "No offence, ole pal!"

But Robin turned to Dicky, and the two held a hasty conversation, whose
nature I could guess. Dilly could not be exposed to this sort of thing
any longer. They began to put on their coats.

"They are going to give it up," I said, not without relief. "About time,
isn't it? Do you recognise them, Champion?"

But Champion, I found, was gone--probably to establish an _alibi_.
Perhaps he was right. Questions might be asked in the House about this.

When I turned again to the scene below I found that the crowd had
thickened considerably, and that the policeman had once more left the
traffic to congest itself, and joined in the game.

"You must tell that young woman to move on," he said to Dicky, not
unkindly. "She's causin' a crowd to collect, and that's a thing she can
be give in charge for."

"All right," said Dicky hurriedly, "we're all going."

The policeman, struck by this sudden anxiety to oblige, became
suspicious.

"All of you?" he said. "'Ow about this mess in the road?"

Robin came to the rescue.

"We'll be back presently and sort it," he said reassuringly.

"Of course," said Dicky, pulling himself together. "Back in 'arf a tick,
governor!"

"Don't you go callin' me names," said the policeman, as the spectators
indulged in happy laughter.

"Sorry!--I mean, certainly!" said Dicky, getting flustered. (I could see
Robin glowering at him.) "We are just going down the street a minute.
This--er-