t immediately, and in a bad temper.

"I lost my wind," he explained, "when that horse fell on me, and everyone
promptly imagined I was killed. I hope, Margaret, the needless excitement
of my appearance on a stretcher did not alarm you. They were going to whip
me off to the hospital when I managed to gurgle out the name of the
hotel."

"What happened?" said Brett.

"The most extraordinary thing. Have you told him, Davie?"

"No, I attributed your first words to me as being due to delirium. I had
no idea you were in earnest."

"Well, Mr. Brett," said Frazer, sitting down, for notwithstanding his
protests, he was somewhat shaky, "it began to rain after breakfast."

"Excellent!" cried the barrister, "An Englishman, in his sound mind,
always starts with the state of the weather."

"I am sound enough, thank goodness, but I had a very close shave. Don't
laugh, Davie. My ribs are sore. As the ladies decided not to go out until
the weather took up, Davie said he would keep them company whilst I seized
the opportunity to visit a tailor. I left the hotel and walked quickly to
the corner of Whitehall. It was hardly worth while taking a cab to Bond
Street, and I intended to cross in front of King Charles's statue. It is
an awkward place, and a lot of 'buses, cabs, and vans were bowling along
downhill from the Strand and St. Martin's Church. I waited a moment on the
kerbstone, watching for a favourable opportunity, when suddenly I was
pitched head foremost in front of a passing 'bus. My escape from instant
death was solely due to the splendid way in which the driver handled his
horses and applied his brake. The near horse was swung round so sharp that
he fell and landed almost, not quite, on the top of me. I could feel his
hot, reeking body against my face, and although the greater part of his
impact was borne by the road, I got enough to knock the breath out of me.
You will see by the state of my clothes in the other room how I was
flattened in the mud. By the way, Davie, it is your suit."

Helen choked back something she was going to say, and Frazer continued:

"A policeman pulled me from under the horse, and I kept my senses
sufficiently to note how the near front wheel had gouged a channel in the
mud within an inch or so of my head. It went over my hat. Where is it?"

Hume ran into the bedroom, and returned with a bowler hat torn to shreds.

"There you are," said Robert coolly, "Fancy my head in that condition."

"You