tions. Brett
might be an emissary of the enemy. But a handsome tip and the assurance
that a very substantial present would be forwarded to his address by the
friends of the gentleman whose life he saved unloosed his tongue.

"I never did see anything like it, sir," he confided. "The road was quite
clear, an' I was bowlin' along to get the inside berth from a General just
behind, when this yer gent was chucked under the 'osses' 'eds. Bli-me, I
would ha' thort 'e was a suicide if I 'adn't seed a bloke shove 'im orf
the kerb."

"Oh, you saw that, did you?"

"Couldn't 'elp it, sir. I was lookin' aht for fares. Jack, my mate, sawr
it too."

The conductor thus appealed to confirmed the statement. They both
described the assailant as very like his would-be victim in size,
appearance, and garments.

Jack said he could do nothing, because the sudden swerving of the 'bus,
the fall of the horse, and the instant gathering of a crowd, prevented him
from making the attempt to grab the other man, who vanished, he believed,
down Whitehall.

"You did not tell the police about the assault?" inquired Brett.

"Not me, guv'nor," said the driver. "The poor chap in the road was not
much 'urt. I knew that, though the mob thort 'e was a dead 'un. An' wot
does it mean? A day lost in the polis-court, an' a day lost on my
pay-sheet, too."

"Well," said Brett, "the twist you gave to the reins this morning meant
several days added to your pay-sheet. Would either of you know the man
again if you saw him?"

This needed reflection.

"I wouldn't swear to 'im," was the driver's dictum, "but I would swear to
any man bein' like 'im."

"Same 'ere," said the conductor.

The barrister understood their meaning, which had not the general
application implied by the words. He obtained the addresses of both men
and left them.

His next visit was to an Atlas terminus. Here he had to wait a full hour
before the 'bus arrived that had passed Trafalgar Square on a south
journey at 10.45.

The conductor remembered the sudden stoppage of the Road Car vehicle.

"Ran over a man, sir, didn't it?" he inquired.

"Nearly, not quite. Now, I want you to fix your thoughts on the passengers
who entered your 'bus at that point. Can you describe them?"

The man smiled.

"It's rather a large order, sir," he said. "I've been past there twice
since. If it's anybody you know particular, and you tell me what he was
like, I may be able to help you."

Brett would