Doyle realised what his duty was before Dr. O’Grady had stopped speaking. He ran across the square to the statue. Mr. Billing, heedless of Moriarty’s threats, was lifting the sheet still higher. He had read the inscription and wanted to inspect the statue itself. Doyle seized him by the shoulder.
“Come you along with me,” he said, “and come quiet if you don’t want me to give you in charge of the police.”
Dr. O’Grady, watching from a distance, saw Mr. Billing marched off towards the hotel. Then he turned to Lord Alfred again.
“I must apologize,” he said, “for running away from you like that. But we couldn’t have talked with that fellow, Doyle, pestering us. You don’t know Doyle, of course. If you did, and if you happened to owe him a little money you’d realise how infernally persistent he can be.”
Lord Alfred had also been watching the capture of Mr. Billing. He wanted to understand, if possible; what was going on round about him.
“What is your friend doing with the other man?” he asked.
“Only capturing him,” said Dr. O’Grady. “You needn’t feel any anxiety about that. The other man is an American and a thorough-paced swindler. Nothing will happen to him that he doesn’t deserve. But we mustn’t waste time. We’ve still got to unveil the statue. You go on with what you were saying. You were just going to tell me what the Lord-Lieutenant’s difficulty is.”
“You invited His Excellency down here,” said Lord Alfred, “to unveil a statue——”
“Quite right. And we have the statue ready. There it is.” He pointed out the statue as he spoke.
“The statue,” said Lord Alfred, “purports to represent General John Regan.”