Hector turned quickly to the crowd.
"Did this man start the rumour?" he demanded, pointing at Randall.
For a moment no-one answered. Fear of a tempest held them silent.
"Did he?"
"I heard it first from him, Sergeant."
The voice, pleasant, careless but assured, was Cranbrook's.
That broke the spell. A chorus of "So did I," "I did, too," rolled solemnly through the crowd.
Hector's fury broke.
MacFarlane raised a husky shout as a dozen bystanders threw themselves on Hector:
"What'you going to do? What'you going to do?"