ven the
one telling, biting word--Suffragette--that had risen and stuck in his
throat--raised her umbrella, and, before Hamar could stop her, struck
it vigorously at him.

"Ghost, demon, devil!" she cried. "I know no fear! Begone!" And the
point of her umbrella coming in violent contact with Hamar's
waistcoat, all the breath was unceremoniously knocked out of him; and
with a ghastly groan he rolled off his seat on to the floor, where he
writhed and grovelled in the most dreadful agony, whilst his assailant
continued to stab and jab at him.

In all probability, she would have succeeded, eventually, in reaching
some vital part of his body, had not one of the frenzied passengers
pulled the communication-cord and stopped the train!

CHAPTER XIX

A SERIES OF MISADVENTURES

With the advent of the guard, Hamar's assailant was dragged off him,
and he was locked up in a separate compartment, "to be given in
charge," so the indignant official announced, directly they got to
Brighton. But Hamar ordained it otherwise. As soon as he had
sufficiently recovered from the effects of the severe castigation the
female furioso had inflicted on him, he became invisible, and when the
train drew up at the Brighton platform, and a couple of policemen
arrived to march him on, he was nowhere to be found! This was his
first experiment with the newly acquired property. "In future," he
said to himself, "before I try any tricks, I'll take very good care
there are no Suffragettes about."

In London there was, of course, no need for him ever to pay fares. All
he had to do, was to become invisible as soon as the taxi stopped,
calmly step out of the vehicle, and walk away. As for meals, he was
able to enjoy many--gratis. He simply walked into a restaurant, fed on
the very best, and then disappeared. Of course, he could not repeat
the trick in the same place, and cautious though he was, he was at
last caught. It appears that a description of him had been circulated
among the police, and that private detectives were employed to watch
for him in the principal hotels and restaurants. Consequently,
directly he entered the grill room at the Piccadilly Hotel, he was
arrested and handcuffed before he had time to swallow a pill.

He was now in a most unpleasant predicament--the tightest corner he
had ever been in. Supposing he could not escape--his sentence would be
at the least two years' penal servitude--what would happen? Curtis and
Kelson w