s
got up with a glance over his shoulder, and, shivering slightly, went
to bed.

A few days later he saw at his club a gentleman of his acquaintance,
named Austin, who was famous for his intimate knowledge of London life,
both in its tenebrous and luminous phases. Villiers, still full of his
encounter in Soho and its consequences, thought Austin might possibly
be able to shed some light on Herbert's history, and so after some
casual talk he suddenly put the question:

"Do you happen to know anything of a man named Herbert--Charles
Herbert?"

Austin turned round sharply and stared at Villiers with some
astonishment.

"Charles Herbert? Weren't you in town three years ago? No; then you
have not heard of the Paul Street case? It caused a good deal of
sensation at the time."

"What was the case?"

"Well, a gentleman, a man of very good position, was found dead, stark
dead, in the area of a certain house in Paul Street, off Tottenham
Court Road. Of course the police did not make the discovery; if you
happen to be sitting up all night and have a light in your window, the
constable will ring the bell, but if you happen to be lying dead in
somebody's area, you will be left alone. In this instance, as in many
others, the alarm was raised by some kind of vagabond; I don't mean a
common tramp, or a public-house loafer, but a gentleman, whose business
or pleasure, or both, made him a spectator of the London streets at
five o'clock in the morning. This individual was, as he said, 'going
home,' it did not appear whence or whither, and had occasion to pass
through Paul Street between four and five a.m. Something or other
caught his eye at Number 20; he said, absurdly enough, that the house
had the most unpleasant physiognomy he had ever observed, but, at any
rate, he glanced down the area and was a good deal astonished to see a
man lying on the stones, his limbs all huddled together, and his face
turned up. Our gentleman thought his face looked peculiarly ghastly,
and so set off at a run in search of the nearest policeman. The
constable was at first inclined to treat the matter lightly, suspecting
common drunkenness; however, he came, and after looking at the man's
face, changed his tone, quickly enough. The early bird, who had picked
up this fine worm, was sent off for a doctor, and the policeman rang
and knocked at the door till a slatternly servant girl came down
looking more than half asleep. The constable pointe