Silvester pulled up the collar of his coat.
"My dear Mr. Policeman, how you frighten us! Could you tell us where we are or which is the way to anywhere?"
The officer jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
"If you go straight on, through Strutton Ground, it'll take you out into Victoria Street, but you'll find it a roughish way."
We did find it a roughish way. We also found that there were some roughish people thereabouts, especially the proprietors of the costers' barrows. It must have been at least eleven, but they were carrying on a market in the gutter as briskly as if it had been the middle of the day. I said to Archie, as soon as I saw what sort of place it was, that we had better sneak through in single file, and thank our stars when we found ourselves out of it. But the others didn't seem to see it. They were bent on improving the shining hour. And they improved it. When I did begin to understand that I was in Victoria Street, at last, some gentleman had borrowed my hat, and I had to tie a handkerchief under my chin to keep the rest of my hair on my head.
"A lively five minutes," observed Teddy, picking what were either pieces of a potato or of an onion from his eye.
I moved a little from him. Owing to his having been upset among the dried fish on a coster's barrow he smelt a bit strong. Silvester held up something in the air.
"I've got a cabbage, and, by jove, I believe some one's got my watch."
There was a roar of voices issuing from the street through which we had come.
"Here they are again!" I cried. "I've had enough of it. I'm off. Hi! cabby!"