He turned away, and, for the first time, appeared to become aware of the presence of the two policemen.
"I am afraid that I did not rightly apprehend that good man's meaning," he said aloud as if talking to himself.
One of the policemen looked down upon the bent figure.
"Beg pardon, sir," he said, "I just wanted to make sure it was you, because this street, as you know, isn't too safe for strangers."
"Thank you, my friend," replied Hora. "But you know that I am as safe here as at my own home." The policemen passed on.
"There won't come no harm to him," said the elder to his companion. "They knows he's a harmless old crank, an' they chy-ikes him a bit for comin' to convert 'em with a packet of tracts for the men and a packet of sweets for the kids, but he's safe enough, for he never has anything about him to make it worth while anyone knocking him on the head."
"He comes pretty reg'lar, I suppose then?" asked the second constable. "I've not seen him before."
"Three or four times a year, may be. There's plenty knows him in the street."
They passed out of sight and Hora went on his way, stopping now and then to speak to a man or a woman or to bestow a sweet on some urchin in the gutter. So, progressing slowly, he reached an archway which had once formed an entrance to a builder's yard. He passed beneath it and crossed the open space to a shed which stood at the far end. The ground was littered with rubbish of all sorts, dirty wisps of straw, dirty pieces of newspaper, rotting cabbage stalks and decomposing remains of fish. Reaching the shed he gave no knock but pushed the door open and entered. Outside, the July sun was shining brightly and within the darkness was so dense that he stood still until his eyes grew accustomed to it. The shed was provided with one small window, but three of its four panes were glazed with brown paper and the remaining pane of glass was so begrimed that only a feeble light forced entrance through it.
While he stood in the doorway striving to penetrate the gloom a human voice, though it was so far unlike the ordinary human voice that it might have belonged to any creature but one made in God's image, began to mutter and gurgle in the darkest corner.