already beginning to flutter and scintillate, for evening was falling. A group of noisy urchins were playing at marbles near him, and their clamour disturbed his meditations.
"I must take this problem in sections," he said to himself, "and conquer one bit before I give attention to what follows. Now, the first thing to do is to get Bendale into a frame of mind that may induce him to talk sanely."
He thought for five minutes, then shouted to one of the lads. The noise ceased, and they all stood apprehensively, thinking he was about to drive them away, or perhaps call a policeman.
"Come here, my boy," he cried to the foremost: "I want to borrow your knife."
Instantly the boy's grimy hand dived down into the pocket of his tattered trousers; there was possibly a penny to be gained. He ran forward and extended a knife. Stranleigh took it, and looked at it with contempt.
"That isn't a knife," he said. "It's only pretending to be! Why, each one of the four blades is broken."
"The points snapped when I tried to take out screw nails," said the lad.
"Don't you own a screw-driver?"
"No, sir."
"Well, that's no way to use a knife."
"Two of the blades will cut, sir."
The group of boys edged nearer, curiosity-
