e would have put me aside. "Sorry, sir, but you must tell your man
to take you round by the next bridge. Traffic closed here--half an
hour, maybe." Then he caught sight of Farrell behind my shoulder,
recognised him, and called his party to a halt. "Excuse me," he
said, with a fine official manner committing him to no approval of
us, "but is this the Candidate? . . . Well, you've come prompt, sir,
but scarcely prompt enough. Situation's in hand, so to speak.
Still you might be useful, getting the crowd to clear off peaceable."
He pondered for a couple of seconds. "Yes, I'll step back with you
to the gate, sirs, and pass you in. You, Wrightson," he spoke up to
a second in command, "take over this little lot and deliver them:
it's all clear ahead. Get back as fast as you can. . . . Now, sirs,
if you'll follow me--there's no danger--the half of 'em no more than
sightseers."

"Just a word, Sergeant," said I, catching up his stride. "I want to
know how this started and how far it has gone."

He glanced at me sideways. "Not on oath, sir, nor official, eh?
What isn't hearsay is opinion, if you understand. Far as I make it
out--but we was caught on the hop, more by ill luck than ill
management--it started with an open-air meetin' right yonder, at the
corner of the Park. Your friend--that is to say Mr. Farrell, if I
make no mistake-"

"Yes, he's Mr. Farrell all right. Go on."

"Well, he was billed to attend, sir; but he didn't turn up."

"He had another engagement," I put in.

"Well, and I did hear some word, too, to that effect," allowed the
Sergeant, with another professional glance, subdolent but correct.
"But, as reported to me, his absence was unfortunate. One or two of
the wrong sort got hold of the mob, and there was a rush for the
College gates. . . . Which the two or three constables did their best
and 'phoned me up."

"Much damage?" I asked.

"Can't say, sir. I was given post at the gates, where for ten
minutes my fellows was kept pretty busy bashing 'em and throwing 'em
out. You see, it being Saturday, most of the students had gone home,
and the porter was took of a heap and ran. . . . Or that's how it was
reported. And whiles we was thus occupied, word came out that the
game was over without need to call reinforcements, if we could hold
the gate. We answered back sayin' if that was all we was doing it
comfortably. Whereupon they began to hand us out the arrests, with
word that some outbui