"I am very glad that I happened to be near," the gentleman replied in a rich, deep but pleasantly modulated voice. "I was just passing out of a gate opposite when I heard you call. The wretch was very bold to assail you on the street at this hour of the evening! Is he intoxicated?"
"I think so," said Mollie, and speaking more calmly now, for she was fast recovering her self-possession, "and I am very thankful to you for your timely assistance, I——"
A groan from the prostrate man interrupted her at this point, and both she and her companion turned at the sound.
"Well, sir, what is it?" curtly demanded the stranger, as he bent over him and tried to get a view of his face.
"You've given me a nasty blow, whoever you are; curse you!" he growled, as he made an effort to regain his feet.
But he seemed to find it a difficult achievement, and the stranger grasped him by the arm and assisted him to rise.
"There you are," he said, "now can you walk?"
Again his victim groaned as he attempted to take a step or two, and almost fell a second time.
"Well you are a trifle the worse for your fall, that is a fact," his companion observed. "I will help you to the corner, where you can get either a carriage or a car to take you home; and, now, if you will accept a bit of friendly advice, I will suggest that you keep your brain clearer in the future, when perhaps you will not be tempted to assault unprotected women in the street and get yourself into trouble again."
Mollie's recent assailant wrenched his arm from the other's grasp with another oath, and, bending forward, tried to peer into the face before him. His fall evidently had not disabled him so seriously as he had at first feared, while the shock had served to sober him somewhat.