"Oh, oh! They are killing me!"
The King lifted her up and put her over into free space on the other side.
"Here! none of that!" cried a big voice beside him. A rough hand seized hold of him and wrenched him back; he turned round and found himself in a policeman's charge. Then another came and took hold of him on the other side.
Incredibly the thing had happened: he was arrested. Triumphantly, through a roaring, eddying crowd, the strong arm of the law bore him away.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE KING'S NIGHT OUT
I
The King sat in a large square chamber with barred windows, awaiting his turn to be attended to.
The crowd of prisoners seated on benches round the walls had become attenuated; only about a score of them now remained. Women had been dealt with first, the residuum were men; the general charge against these was pocket-picking.