The gloves were bought and posted to Miss Kelley, and Hal told Reg all about the courtship.
"A proud, haughty girl is what he delights in," said Reg, though he mentally added that his Amy was not of that character.
"Our next move is to find out Dick's character and his habits, for from the way she referred to him, I fancy Dick is of some material assistance to him," said Hal, dodging his way through the crowded thoroughfares. "We'd better, therefore, find his cab-rank first."
"Can you tell me—" he enquired of the first gentleman he met.
"No, got no time," said the individual addressed, as he bustled away at the rate of ten miles an hour.
"Where are the cab-ranks?" he asked another.
"Up there, round the corner," replied this one, without stopping, and being well out of range before Hal had understood his reply.
After trying to extract the information from about a dozen people, he gave it up, for every man he spoke to seemed to be in a greater hurry than his fellows. "One continued rush," said Hal, "all day long; each trying to out-do the others in business, but it all ends in the mushroom style, for they boom up everything to ten times its value, and when the relapse comes matters are fifty times worse. That's Melbourne."
After several unsuccessful attempts to find a cab-rank on which was a hansom with a grey horse, they at last saw one in Swansea Street, but to their chagrin, before they could get to it, they saw a hansom with a grey horse and a driver answering to Dick's description drive away.
"That looks like Dick," said Reg, excitedly.