“I’ve nothing more to say about the force,” returned Giles; “if I have not said enough to convince you of our importance, and of the debt of gratitude that you and the public of London owe to us, you are past conviction, and—”
“You are wrong, Giles, as usual; I am never past conviction; you have only to take me before the police court in the morning, and any magistrate will at once convict me of stupidity for having married a Scotchman and a policeman!”
“I think it must be time to go on my beat, for you beat me hollow,” said Number 666, consulting his watch.
“No, no, Giles, please sit still. It is not every day that I have such a chance of a chat with you.”
“Such a chance of pitching into me, you mean,” returned Giles. “However, before I go I would like to tell you just one or two facts regarding this great London itself, which needs so much guarding and such an army of guardians. You know that the Metropolitan District comprises all the parishes any portion of which are within 15 miles of Charing Cross—this area being 688 square miles. The rateable value of it is over twenty-six million eight hundred thousand pounds sterling. See, as you say you’ve a good head for figures, there’s the sum on a bit of paper for you—26,800,000 pounds. During last year 26,170 new houses were built, forming 556 new streets and four new squares—the whole covering a length of 86 miles. The total number of new houses built during the last ten years within this area has been 162,525, extending over 500 miles of streets and squares!”
“Stay, I can’t stand it!” cried Molly, dropping her sock and putting her fingers in her ears.
“Why not, old girl?”
“Because it is too much for me; why, even your figure is a mere nothing to such sums!”
“Then,” returned Giles, “you’ve only got to stick me on to the end of them to make my information ten times more valuable.”
“But are you quite sure that what you tell me is true, Giles?”