Chester heard beside him Prideaux's mutter—"Good God!" and then, below him, broke the roar of the crowd.
"Come on, boys!" someone shouted. "Come on and wreck the blooming show, and nab the blooming showman before he slips off!"
Men flung themselves up the steps and through the big doors, and surged up the stairs.
"This," remarked Prideaux, "is going to be some mess. I'll go and get Rendle to see sense, if I can. He's leading them up the stairs, probably."
"I fancy that won't be necessary," said Chester. "Rendle and his friends are coming in here, apparently."
The door was burst open, and men rushed in. Chester and Prideaux faced them, standing before the door.
"You fools," Chester said again. "What good do you think you're going to do yourselves by this?"
"Here he is, boys! Here's Nicky Chester, the married man!"
Chester and Prideaux were surrounded and pinioned.
"Don't hurt him," someone exhorted. "We'll hang him out over the balcony and ask the boys down there what to do with him."