“Oxford! Oxford! Oxford!” Mr. Grace thumped Ocky in the ribs and bellowed, “There’s Peter. See ‘im?”
As though Peter had heard, he raised the stroke from thirty-four to thirty-six, calling on his men for a spurt. They were creeping up—lifting their boat through the water in a splendid effort. Men swore beneath their breath; they tiptoed and clawed at one another, utterly selfish and careless in their wild desire to gain a clearer view of those distant streaks of energy, which bent forward and swung back mechanically in that gray ribbon of beaten water. They were shooting under the bridge now, police-boats and launches spluttering, hooting and following. The crowd swayed, broke and ran. Men leapt down from lamp-posts and points of vantage.
Something happened. Mr. Grace was pushed from behind—pushed off the roof of his own cab. He picked himself up indignantly from the pavement and tried to clamber back. It mightn’t have been his cab—it was territory invaded and held by intruders. “’Ere you! Git orf of it.”
He laid about him with his whip and clutched at coattails. Someone hit him on the mouth. He hit back. A policeman came up. No time for explaining. He was angry enough to fight the whole world. What was Peter doing?
“Leggo o’ me. It’s me own keb. A free country, indeed! ‘Ere you, come orf of it.”
He battled his way to the box. For one moment he saw two disappearing specks, and then——. A crack! A man was waist-deep in woodwork. The invaders jumped down to save themselves. The policeman hopped into the cab and levered the legs back.
Mr. Grace was purple. “Pushed me orf me keb, that’s wot they did. And now I arsks yer ter h’inspeck that roof. ‘E wuz goin’ to arrest me. Garn, puddin’ face. Yer daren’t.”
“Move along. Move along, me man.”
There was nothing for it. Mr. Grace picked up the reins. “Puddin’ face,” he flung back across his shoulder. “Yes, h’it’s you I’m meamn’. Puddin’ face—yer bally cop.”
It was only when he had turned a corner and climbed down to examine the damage, that he realized that he had lost Mr. Waffles.