g was very loud and spirited just at this moment.
The music-teacher could not understand where it came from, and paused
to find out. The fact that he stopped attracted the attention of the
next comer, who also paused.

"Who's singing?" he asked. "Where is he singing?"

"I can't make out," the music-teacher laughed. "Sounds as if it came
out of the ground."

And, because it was queer that a song should seem to be coming out of
the ground, a costermonger stopped, and then a little boy, and then a
workingwoman, and then a lady.

There was quite a little group when another person turned the corner of
the street. He was a shabby boy on crutches, and he had a frantic look
on his face.

And Marco actually heard, as he drew near to the group, the tap-tap-tap
of crutches.

"It might be," he thought. "It might be!"

And he sang the trumpet-call of the chorus as if it were meant to reach
the skies, and he sang it again and again. And at the end of it
shouted, "Hallo! Hallo! Hallo! Hallo! Hallo!"

The Rat swung himself into the group and looked as if he had gone
crazy. He hurled himself against the people.

"Where is he! Where is he!" he cried, and he poured out some
breathless words; it was almost as if he sobbed them out.

"We've been looking for him all night!" he shouted. "Where is he!
Marco! Marco! No one else sings it but him. Marco! Marco!" And out
of the area, as it seemed, came a shout of answer.

"Rat! Rat! I'm here in the cellar--locked in. I'm here!" and a big
piece of coal came hurtling through the broken window and fell crashing
on the area flags. The Rat got down the steps into the area as if he
had not been on crutches but on legs, and banged on the door, shouting
back:

"Marco! Marco! Here I am! Who locked you in? How can I get the door
open?"

Marco was close against the door inside. It was The Rat! It was

The Rat! And he would be in the street again in a few minutes. "Call a
policeman!" he shouted through the keyhole. "The people locked me in
on purpose and took away the keys."

Then the group of lookers-on began to get excited and press against the
area railings and ask questions. They could not understand what had
happened to cause the boy with the crutches to look as if he were crazy
with terror and relief at the same time.

And the little boy ran delightedly to fetch a policeman, and found one
in the next street, and, with some difficulty, persuaded him that