tting on a
seat outside the shop scanned it.

There were three roads out of Sandbourne-on-Sea; the London road; a road
across the cliffs to the west; and a road across the cliffs to the east.
The easterly road led to Northbourne, a sea-side town some six or seven
miles away, the westerly road to Southbourne, some fifteen miles off.
London lay sixty miles to the north. The railway touched the London road
at Houghton Admiral, a station some nine miles up the line.

That was the position. Should he take the London road and board a train
at Houghton Admiral, or take the road to Northbourne and get a train
from there?

The three ways lay before him like the three Fates, and he determined on
the London road.

However, Man proposes and God disposes.

He folded up the map, put it in his pocket and started for home--or at
least Mrs. Henshaw's.

Just at the commencement of the street he paused before a
photographer's to inspect the pictures exposed for view. Groups, family
parties, children, and girls with undecided features. He turned from the
contemplation of these things and found himself face to face with
Hoover.

Hoover must have turned into the street from a bye way, for only sixty
seconds before the street had been Hooverless. He was dressed in a
Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers, and his calves showed huge.

"Hello!" said Jones.

The exclamation was ejected from him so to speak, by the mental shock.

Hoover's hand shot out to grasp his prey. What happened then was
described by Mr. Shonts, the German draper across the way, to a friend.

"The thin man hit Mr. Hoover in the stomack, who sat down, but lifted
himself at wance and pursued him."

Jones ran. After him followed a constable, sprung from nowhere, boys, a
dog that seemed running for exercise, and Hoover.

He reached the house of Mrs. Henshaw, pulled the latch key from his
pocket, plunged it in the lock, opened the door and shut it. So close
was the pursuit on him that the "bang-bang" of the knocker followed at
once on the bang of the door.

Then the bell went, peal after peal.

Jones made for the kitchen stairs and bolted down them, found a passage
leading to the back door, and, disregarding the bewildered Mrs. Henshaw,
who was coming out of the kitchen with her hands all over flour, found
the back yard.

A blank wall lay before him, another on the right, and another on the
left. The left and right walls divided the Henshaw back yard from the
ya