ed, stuffing pieces of the recovered
pudding into his mouth.

A policeman was standing at the corner, and Henry went to him and told
him of the child's plight.

"Sick is 'e?" the constable exclaimed.

"Yes," Henry answered. "He looked hungry, poor little chap, and so I
bought him some of the pudding they sell in that shop!"

The policeman looked at him for a few moments. "Well, of course, you
meant it kindly, sir!" he said, "but if I was you I wouldn't do that
again. If you'll excuse me sayin' it, sir, it was a damn silly thing to
do!"

"Why?"

"Why! 'Alf the kids about 'ere is too 'ungry to eat. That kid ought to
be in the 'ospital by rights. Don't never give 'em no puddin' or stuff
like that, sir. Their stomachs can't stand it. Nah, then," he said to
the sick child, "you 'op 'ome, young 'un. You didn't ought to be 'angin'
about 'ere, you know, upsettin' the traffic an' mykin' a mess on the
pyvement. Gow on! Git aht of it!"

The boys ran off, leaving Henry staring blankly after them. "'E'll be
all right, sir!" said the policeman. "It's no good tryin' to do nothink
for 'em. They're down, guv'nor, an' that's all about it. I seen a lot of
yooman nature down about 'ere, an' you can tyke it from me, them kids is
down an' they'll stay down, an' that's all you can say about it.
Good-night, sir!"

"Good-night!" said Henry.

He moved away, feeling sick and miserable and angry.

"It's beastly," he said to himself. "That's what it is. Beastly!"

6

His mind was occupied by violent thoughts about the two children whom he
had fed with currant pudding, and he did not observe what he was doing
or where he was going. He was in a wide, dark street where there were
tram-lines, but he could not remember seeing a tramcar pass by. He was
tired and although he was not hungry, he was conscious of a missed meal,
and he was thirsty. "I'd better turn back," he said to himself, turning
as he did so. He wondered where he was, and he resolved that he would
ask the first policeman he met to tell him in what part of London he now
was and what was the quickest way to get out of it.

"It was silly of me to come here at all," he murmured, and then he
turned quickly and stared across the street.

A woman had screamed somewhere near by ... on the other side of the
street, he thought ... and as he looked, he saw figures struggling, and
then they parted and one of them, a woman, ran away towards a lamppost,
holding her hands before her