back
staircase, at the foot of which a policeman was prepared to receive him,
but Jeff sprang up, knocked down the policeman, and fled. Seeing this,
Mr Sparks took alarm, and was about to follow when the Bloater suddenly
sprang at his throat and Little Jim caught him by the legs. He quickly
disengaged himself, however, and ran off at full speed, closely followed
by his young tormentors and two policemen, besides a miscellaneous crowd
of hooting and yelling lads and boys.

It was an exciting chase that ensued. The two policemen were young and
strong, and for some time kept pretty near the fugitive, but gradually
they fell behind, and, by doubling through several narrow streets,
Sparks threw them off the scent. As for the crowd, the greater part of
those who composed it gave in after a short run. But the Bloater and
Little Jim were not thus to be got rid of. They were fleet of foot and
easily kept Mr Sparks in view, though he made desperate efforts to
catch them, as well as to get away from them. The two boys were so
persevering that they followed him all the way to Thames Street, and,
just when the unhappy man thought he had at length eluded them, they set
up the cry of "Stop thief!" and gave chase again with a new force of
policemen and roughs at their heels.

Turning abruptly into a dark passage, Sparks rushed upstairs, burst open
a door and fell exhausted on the floor of the cheerless room occupied by
poor Martha Reading. Almost at the same moment the two boys, who were
at least a hundred yards in advance of the other pursuers, sprang into
the room.

"Ha! run you down at last, have we?" gasped the Bloater.

Poor startled Martha, leaping at once to the conclusion that he was
pursued, fell on her knees, and, in a voice of agonising entreaty,
begged the boys to have mercy on him!

"Eh! hallo! what?" exclaimed the Bloater, taken by surprise. Then,
under a sudden impulse, he dashed out of the room followed by Little
Jim, and rushed into the street just as the first of the crowd came up.

"This way! Straight on! hooray!" he shouted, leading off the crowd in
the direction of the river. The crowd followed. The Bloater led them
into a maze of intricate back streets; shot far ahead of them, and then,
doubling, like a hare, into a retired corner, stood chuckling there
while the shouting crowd swept by.

For a few minutes, Little Jim was utterly bereft of speech, owing to a
compound of amazement, delight, exci