"I'm blowed if you will," replied the fellow.
"Very well then, I'll stay here until a policeman comes along," said Arthur.
Without any more parley, one of the men struck him a violent blow in the eye that knocked him backwards. Fortunately, he fell on the pavement, and his head came in contact with Adrian's chest, which roused him from his stupor for a minute, and he called out, "Thieves! Robbers! Police! Police!"
Two gentleman passing the end of a side road a few yards on, ran up to see what was the matter.
But by the time they had reached the prostrate Adrian, the men had made off, and Arthur was slowly pulling himself together and wiping the blood from his face which was streaming from his nose.
"This fellow has stolen my watch," said Adrian, still speaking very thickly, and struggling with Arthur as he spoke. It was a dark part of the road, and one gentleman seized Arthur and shook him, while the other tried to raise Adrian and set him on his feet.
But he was still too stupid to understand who had first come to his rescue, and kept on muttering, "He's stolen my watch, he's stolen my watch."
"The fellow who has robbed him I suppose has run away," said Arthur, who still felt dazed and sick from the blow he had received.
"Do you know anything of this gentleman?" asked one sharply.
"Yes, he is my cousin. The son of Lady Mary Murray. Rouse up, Ted, and try to pull yourself together. Where have you been since I left you an hour or two ago?"